Lords, cardinals, dukes and archbishops. Patrons of the arts, scholars of the Renaissance. That's how you'd describe the Roman Este family from the 16th century. Wealthy, to be sure, but always wanting more, something grander, better than what was before them.
Tivoli had been a summer vacation spot for centuries before these dudes came to it. High in the hills, it's cooler than Rome. And, for an extra dose of status, it's where the Emperor of ancient Rome once had his summer residence. Bonus points for that.
This, then, is where the Villa d'Este was converted to a home for the cardinal d'Este. Kind of small for a man of such stature, but it had an unbeatable location and, too, this bonus point: the property had an abundant natural water supply -- for the gardens and fountains that would be constructed to slope down from the Villa into the valley.
The Villa d'Este and its gardens is where Bee, her husband and I traveled to today.
After breakfast, of course.
(Oh, I love the little "cornetti" and sweet roll selection here for breakfast!)
I'd never been to Tivoli. It's roughly an hour east by train and so it's a bit of a production. Gosia and her husband still had things they wanted to see in Rome proper, so it was just the three of us, straining our necks to see which track the train left from, for the town of Tivoli. There, it's number 11!
(it's a small, regional train; lots of stops at little towns along the way)
The trip is lovely. I'll flash you some pics going there and coming back, but of course, we were chatting away during the ride, so my attention was on something else most of the time.
(going there, through the hazy window of the train car)
From the Tivoli station it's about a twenty minute walk to the Villa.
Across the river, through the town.
Here's the thing we found out, but only once we got there: For whatever Italian reason, the fountains in the gardens are not working right now. So we have to imagine how the place would look with hundreds of spouting faucets and spigots. On the upside, I can apply for a refund of the entrance ticket price! The Italians are reasonable, after all.
The Villa itself is currently unremarkable inside, because all furniture has been carted off to museums or sold by the family. There are nice frescoed walls to admire, but that's about it.
But the views over the gardens! And the valley, and the town, and the hills! Oh, the views!
I made the comment that the cardinal and other prominent family members probably thought of it as wall paper after a while. But I didn't mean it. After all, my own puny garden is magical for me -- I never get tired of it and it's no Villa d'Este!
I dont know what I loved more -- the fact that the weather was perfect -- partly cloudy and not too cold, or that so much of the vegetation was beginning to unfold in preparation for spring...
Or the sheer display of greens -- the ferns, the trees, the beautiful mosses and the blooming hellebores.
And of course, as you walk down, the views change, and you come across another loveliness and another...
(Outside the gardens: vines and olive groves)
We spent a good chunk of time in the gardens. Indeed, had there been comfy benches to sit on, we probably would still be there right now.
Lunch time! Can we find a pizzeria in Tivoli that's open?
We ask around and are directed to this place in the more commercial intersection of this small grouping of houses: Ugo's pizza, spilling out onto the sidewalk. Perfect for a partly cloudy (albeit windy!) day.
The pizzas are tiny ones, but they are tasty and we add salads to the mix.
And then we catch the train back to the city.
The one that runs downtown isn't due for a while, so we get on one that goes to a suburb and from there, we ride the metro to our neighborhood.
I'm thirsty for a good coffee and hungry for the chocolate cannoli that our sweet cafe-bar told me would be available today, so I stop by at Er Baretto (the place we ate lunch the past two days). And lo! Who should be there eating a late lunch there if not our other friends! All roads...
It's our last evening together, all five, in Rome. Tomorrow, the four return to Warsaw and I travel on by train for a couple of more nights in Italy (before returning to the farmette late Tuesday). We have a dinner booked at Maccheroni. It's a bit of a walk (20+ minutes), but it is our last time together! We're up for it!
We cut the walk by a minute by taking the route from our hotel to Centro Storico through the tunnel. You haven't lived until you've done that trek, at night.
All safe at last!
For once, the restaurant is not new to me. It seems the last handful of trips I've eaten there and always loved it. (It really helps if you ask for an upstairs table, though the food is good in any of the eating spaces. The ravioli with zucchini flowers and cheese is exquisite!)
Delicious pasta. Always the delicious pasta. I've eaten more of it on this trip than perhaps on all the remaining days of the past year, but when you are in Rome do what... well, you know the saying.
(A sign of a good restaurant is when they dont just give up on the dessert. The Tiramisu at Maccheroni is superb.)
A walk home, to our hotel, on this night of the full Hunger Moon. Not hungry, that's for sure! And so content to have spent this time with my beloved Polish friends.
(My camera never works well for those who use it to take a requested picture of all of us. Yesterday the kind stranger never pressed the shutter release fully, today -- well, she must have not first adjusted it for the distance. Or she wiggled. Still, does it matter? Here we are, together and happy. If somewhat blurred.)
With so much love...
