We visited the beautiful Villa d’Este in Tivoli, a 16th century palace built by Cardinal Ippolito, the husband of that naughty Lucrezia Borgia, who was daughter of Pope Alexander VI – Graham, are you reading this? The Cardinal made himself very unpopular with the people of Tivoli by demolishing homes and diverting a major river to create his villa with its sloping gardens, full of beautiful fountains and grottos. The fountains flow naturally fed only by the force of the water, no pumps are involved. You can imagine how the gardens would be lovely and cool in the heat of the summer surrounded by so many sources of rushing water.
