A few kilometres away from Rome, there’s a world-renowned town, hosting two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Tivoli.

It’s here that, back in the 2nd century AD, the emperor Hadrian built his majestic villa: a luxury country residence where he used to retreat and where he lived his late years.

The huge complex includes more than 30 buildings, several swimming pools, former thermal stations and covers an area that’s larger than a square kilometre, which gives quite an idea of this place’s aim: to show the greatness, opulence and vast power of the emperor.

In the 16th century, much of the remaining marble and statues were removed from Hadrian's Villa by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, to decorate his own villa located nearby: Villa d’Este, another UNESCO world heritage site.

Largely frescoed on the inside, the Villa is surrounded by a unique garden, displaying a complex system of pools, water jets, channels, fountains, cascades, and water games. And what makes this system of fountains such an incredible masterpiece of engineering is that it works entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps.

Leaving Rome in the morning, you’ll have half a day to enjoy these architectural beauties accompanied by a professional guide, who’ll provide you with an audio receiver and earphones: you won’t miss a single detail!