Last week, we went on another class trip to Hadrian’s Villa and Villa D’Este. I don’t know how much you know about Italian villas, so here is a little background info:
Villas date back to imperial Rome. It was very common for the elite to have a palace in the city, and a country residence, called a villa. That tradition was revived during the renaissance; the wealthy/ruling elite would have their palazzo(s) in the cities, and their villas with elaborate gardens as their country retreat. Hadrian’s villa is one of the few surviving ancient villas, and served as the model for many renaissance villas.
It was built for the emperor Hadrian, and it is a GIANT sprawling villa complex that has an almost urban scale.
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| Model of the Hadrian's Villa Complex |
It had all the amenities an emperor could wish for, including a theatre, a bath house, a fish farm, guest houses, you name it.
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| an example of Roman building technology: this wall was built so straight, that when you stand at the end of it and look at it dead on, it looks like a single column. |
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| house of the emperor's personal deities |
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| the emperor's living residence |
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| complete with indoor fish pond. |
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| pavement in the guest bed rooms |
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| roman brick masonry |
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| temple space |
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| fish farm |
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| bath house roof |
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| reflecting pool |
Villa D’Este is a renaissance villa that is famous for its incredible gardens.
The gardens slope up a hill toward the palace.
It has some of the most incredible water features
Including a water organ
Apparently, in its heyday, when some of the fountains sprayed water, the mist formed the coat of arms of the villa’s patron. It is simply incredible that the hydro-engineering technology back then was advanced enough to produce this.
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