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Villa D’Este: makin’ a comeback
Nineteen ninety was a bad year for Tivoli.
The small town approximately 50 kilometers west of Rome has long been a popular destination for daytrippers from the capital, but ten years ago, the situation was grim. The 16th-century Villa d’Este, famous for its fountains and dramatic hillside location, was in decline; pollution in the waters that feed its more than 500 fountains caused the Ministry of Culture to demote the once-spectacular Renaissance estate to the humiliating status of “monument of secondary importance.” In the years that followed, the condition of the gardens only got worse, and some of the most glorious fountains stopped functioning altogether. Villa d’Este even risked closure to the public, which would have cost the tourism industry in Tivoli incredible quantities of lire.
Now, the dark years of the 1990s are in the past, and Villa d’Este is making a comeback. The Superintendent raised $10 million in private investments to rescue Villa d’Este from its decadence. The funds went mostly toward the installation of a water purification system (operation of which is now financed by the Region of Lazio), and the water quality in the fountains has improved greatly, as has general upkeep of the gardens. The original splendor of the monument, a consummate expression of the Renaissance rich and famous, has returned.
The year 2000 was a boom for tourism in Tivoli, which saw approximately 700,000 visitors to Villa d’Este, up 200,000 from the year before. The biggest news, however, is that inspectors from UNESCO are due to visit soon, and they will be deciding whether to place Villa d’Este on the exclusive list of monuments protected and overseen by the prestigious international organization.
Considering that the second-century AD Hadrian’s Villa nearby already enjoys this elite “heritage of humanity” status, Tivoli, with the insertion of Villa d’Este on the list, “risks” becoming the only small town in the world to boast two UNESCO-protected monuments.
Villa d’Este is open Tuesday to Friday, 9am-5pm. Admission is € 6.50.
To get there: take Metro Line B to Ponte Mammolo, then take the blue COTRAL/LiLa bus to Tivoli.
PIERLUIGI SCARANO