Villa D'Este

Name	Villa D'Este
Place	Tivoli
Country	Italy
Topic	please enter the topic here
Author(s)	Denise Ascione
Completion	Please enter the date of completion
Client	Please enter the client
Project costs	Please enter the costs (if known)
<googlemap version="0.9" lat="41.962937" lon="12.796755" type="satellite" zoom="15" width="300" height="250"> 41.96239, 12.796695, Villa d'Este, 00019 Tivoli RM Villa d'Este, 00019 Tivoli RM Tivoli, Latium </googlemap>

"… dovunque tu volga il guardo ne zampillano polle in sì varie maniere e con tale splendidezza di disegno, da non esservi luogo su tutta la terra che in tal genere non sia di gran lunga inferiore…" (Lettera di Uberto Foglietta a Flavio Orsino, 1569)

Rationale: Why is this case study interesting?

Villa d’Este was elected World Heritage site by the UNESCO on december 13 2001;

• The Villa d’Este is one of the most outstanding examples of Renaissance culture at its apogee.
• The gardens of the Villa d’Este had a profound influence on the development of garden design throughout Europe.
• The principles of Renaissance design and aesthetics are illustrated in an exceptional manner by the gardens of the Villa d’Este.
• The gardens of the Villa d’Este are among the earliest and finest of the giardini delle meraviglie and symbolize the flowering of Renaissance culture.
• For centuries the Villa d'Este was a must in travellers' andartists' Grand Tours in Italy. It inspired, either directly or indirectly, painters, composers, and literary men from all countries.

Villa d’Este is one of the most meaningful witness of the Renaissance, a unique example of the Italian garden. It became a reference mark for many other gardens build after, in Italy and in the other country. The Villa was looked as a forced destination for the major artists, poets and musicians of the world who described it as a Wonder garden and Italian garden. It’s fame permained during centuries and thousands of tourists visit the Villa nowadays, charmed by the wondering fountains, by the sound of the ‘Organo Idraulico’ and by bird’s song of the ‘Fontana della Civetta’. The fountains, the grottos and the nymphaeum are part of the classical culture with its real meaning; deep knowledge of the allegories and mythological achievements.

The Landscape was completely modified with the terracing of the slop.

Author's perspective

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Landscape and/or urban context

The Villa d’Este is situated in the historical centre of Tivoli on the west slope from the Tiburtini mountains, along the Anio river. The landscape and the health resources made Tivoli one of the most important strategic place. Inside the Barbarossa’s city walls on the south, there were slopes covered by gardens, vineyards, and a few of houses and churches making parte of the Valle Gaudente, so called because of the perfect harmony with nature. Since 1550, in about 30 years, the cardinal Ippolito d’Este bought and remodelled the land to create an ensemble composed by the Palace and the Gardens, who covers an area of about 4,5ha. in an uneven quadrilateral form. An underground channel was dug beneath the town to harness the water of the Anio river to supply the water needed for the numerous fountains embellishing the garden.

The middle ages urban structure underwent a remarkable transformation with the creation of a new streat, via dell’Inversata; so like the altimetric changing and the empty space from the garden modified the landscape appearance.

Cultural/social/political context

• Brief explanation of culture, political economy, legal framework

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History

Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, after the disappointment of a failed bid for the papacy, became governor of Tivoli from 1550; he immediately nurtured the idea of realizing a Villa with garden in “Valle gaudente” as the twin from the Palace in Rome in Monte, but it was only after 1560 that his architectural and iconographic program became with the painter-architect-archeologist Pirro Ligorio and the court architect Alberto Galvani who realized the project. The Palace was decorated under the tutelage of the stars of the late Roman Mannerism. The work was almost complete at the time of the Cardinal’s death (1572).

From 1605 Cardinal Alessandro d'Este made new interventions to restore and repair the vegetation and the waterworks, and to create a new series of innovations for the garden and the decorations of the fountains.

Gianlorenzo Bernini was involved to make other works from 1660 to 1670.

In the XVIIIth century the property passed to the House of Hapsburg; the Villa and the garden began his decay, the garden was slowly abandoned, the water works fell into ruin, and the collection of ancient statues, was disassembled and scattered.

Gustav von Hohelohe obtained the property of the villa from the Dukes of Modena in 1851, launched a series of works to pull the complex back from its state of ruin. Between 1867 and 1882 the Villa once again became a cultural point of reference, with the Cardinal frequently hosting the musician Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886), who composed Giochi d'acqua a Villa d'Este for piano while a guest here.

At the outbreak of the first world war the villa became a property of the Italian State, and during the 1920s it was restored and opened to the public. Another, radical restoration was carried out immediately after the Second World War to repair the damage caused by the bombing of 1944.

Spatial analysis of area/project/plan

• What are the main structural features?
• How has it been shaped? Were there any critical decisions?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

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Core Questions of Working Group History and Conservation

How are the heritage sites linked to the adjacent urban landscape?

Villa d’Este is situated in the centre of Tivoli that is a little city about 20km away from Rome. The old centre of Tivoli is located on the north, that’s because the Aniene river surround Tivoli on the north and on the east. The connection from Rome to Tivoli is good, that’s because there are other important historic place near Tivoli, like Villa Adriana; you can go by car, by bus or by train. The only problem is that there is a lot of traffic during the day. There is a network of tight streets on the old centre which makes difficult to identify the presence of Villa d’este, also because the entrance is trough the Palace. Tivoli developed on the west slope from the Tiburtini mountains that consent a wonderful panorama from Rome and the adjacent landscape.

entry

How are the heritage sites used?

Villa d’Este is a historic heritage worldly known, so the largest part of the people who visit it, are tourists; but in the last years the Villa began to have other functions and the garden is also used to receive cultural manifestation like the show of "Ettore Roesler Franz” (a landscape painter of the late 19th century in Tivoli and Lazio), or “The Week of the Culture”, a free entrance week . During the summer the opening time is extended to the night and concert take place involving more people. There is a Museum Laboratory of Ancient Books, housed inside the gardens, in two buildings in the area opposite the Fontana dell'Ovato. The museum is the international home of seminars, conferences, and teaching activities related to the study, conservation, restoration and technical/scientific reconstruction of ancient books, and various pictorial techniques.

Which elements make the heritage site successful and attractive?

It’s not easy to answer that question because every element, in relation with the complex of the garden, with its impressive concentration of fountains, nymphs, grottoes, jeaux d’eau, and music make this heritage successful.

How is the historical background of the heritage site presented to the public?

There are many historic sign scattered in the Palace and in the Gardens, but the most of them are old and had to be changed.

What do the author(s) want to express with the garden concept? Did he/they follow the cultural background of the time?

Villa d’Este was thought like the twin of the Palace in Rome where the cardinal Ippolito d’Este had a place, far from the city, to think, discuss and take decisions. Among its contemporaries, the Villa d'Este soon became famous, thanks to its innovative plan, magnificence, rich decorations, and the extraordinary variety of its jeux d'eau. The influence of the Villa d'Este was decisive for the development of the art of European gardens, and it remained an unrivalled model until the French garden of Versailles and Vaux-le-Vicomte came into fashion.

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Analysis of program/function

• What are the main functional characteristics?
• How have they been expressed or incorporated?

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Analysis of design/planning process

• How was the area/project/plan formulated and implemented?
• Were there any important consultations/collaborations?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of use/users

• How is the area/project/plan used and by whom?
• Is the use changing? Are there any issues?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Future development directions

• How is the area/project/plan evolving?
• Are there any future goals?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Peer reviews or critique

• Has the area/ project/plan been reviewed by academic or professional reviewers?
• What were their main evaluations?

Pleas add references, quotes...

Points of success and limitations

• What do you see as the main points of success and limitations of the area/project/plan?

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What can be generalized from this case study?

• Are there any important theoretical insights?

Short statement plus background notes

Which research questions does it generate?

Short statement plus background notes

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References

• Italienische Gaerten von Guenter Mader und Laila-Neubert Mader;

• www.sitiunesco.it;

• www.tibursuperbum.it/eng/monumenti/villadeste/index.htm

• Wikipedia

• Villa d'Este a Tivoli. Quattro secoli di storia e restauri di Centroni Alessandra

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