picture by courtesy of Mr Nickolay Tatarchuk

This site, originally occupied by a Benedictine monastery, was acquired by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este (the son of Duke Alfonso and Lucrezia Borgia) in 1550 and converted into one of the most important Mannerist villas. Pirro Ligorio probably began building it c. 1560. Alterations were made in later centuries. After 1803 it was owned by the Austrian Hapsburg-Este (until 1914 it belonged to Franz Ferdinand the heir to the throne who was murdered in Sarajevo). It has been Italian state property since 1918. The long, three-storied palace, with its two-storied front on the town side, is decorated with frescos by L. Agresti, the two Zuccari, and others. However, these are of less significance than the Mannerist garden.
Phaidon Cultural Guide
The mansion was frescoed with mythological scenes and landscapes painted by Roman school painters such as Zuccari, Agresti, and Muziano, to name the most prominent. The park is considered one of the finest example of the so-called giardino all 'Italiana. Its outstanding features are its fountains - over five hundred of them. The most striking are: Fontana dell'Ovato symbolizing the city of Tivoli, the Fontana dell 'Organo named for the water-powered organ it was once equipped with, the Fontana del Bicchierone attributed to Bernini, the Fontana dei Draghi that spewed forth an incredibly powerful jet of water, and the Fontana delta Rometta in which the Tiberine Island and other Roman symbols were re-created. One of the most remarkable sites are the spouts of the "one hundred fountains" lining the Viale delle Cento Fontane.
Guide to Italy

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