Villa d'Este - Villa in Tivoli, outside Rome, a World Cultural Heritage Site and a wonderful example of Renaissance architecture.

The villa was built on the orders of Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia and the grandson of Pope Alexander VI .  Ippolito was appointed governor of Tivoli by Pope Julius III, who also gave him a gift Palace .  The palace has been completely redesigned by Pirro Ligorio, and under the guidance of architect Alberto Galvani, court architect of the family Este .  Above the interior decoration of the villa worked Livio Agresti from Forlì .  For two decades (from 1550 to 1572 years), Cardinal d'Este transformed the villa in a magnificent residence surrounded by magnificent hanging garden in the style of the late Renaissance .  Creating a garden required the use of the latest innovations of the time in the water supply, which was done by stages, tanks, troughs and pools, water jets and fountains .  As a result, Villa d'Este was one of the most outstanding buildings of the 17th century in the Roman Campagna, along with Villa Lante, John Caprarola Villa Farnese, Villa Aldobrandini and Villa Torlonia in Frascati .  These hanging gardens were created over the next two centuries across Europe - from Portugal to Poland .  Interestingly, the inspiration for the Cardinal d'Este has served nearby Villa Adriana - the residence of the ruler of the Roman Empire .  It was from there were taken numerous marble statue, which was adorned with a cardinal's villa . 

In 1605, Cardinal Alessandro d'Este had an extension of the garden, and in the 18th century villa and the surrounding area became the property of the House of Habsburg (Ercole III d'Este bequeathed ownership daughter Maria Beatrice, who married the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Karl). Later, a luxury villa and garden were abandoned, hydraulic systems fell into disrepair, and many antique statues were dismantled and taken to different locations. That period of decline immortalized in a work of Franz Liszt, who gave the Villa d'Este, one of his last concerts.

After World War Villa d'Este was bought by the Italian government, restored and re-furnished with furniture and furnishings from the vaults of the National Gallery (Rome). Today, the villa houses the Museum of antique books, dedicated to the study and preservation of antique editions.