The Villas of Lazio

We drive into the beautiful Sabine Hills, the retreat of Renaissance princes and Roman Emperors. Here we discover the little valley of Licenza and the Villa of Horace. The villa was once a modest farm estate which underwent later aggrandisement with a suite of baths, latrine, a vivarium, or ornamental pool, with niches cut into the walls for the breeding of fish. We continue to Arcinazzo Romano where we view the sprawling remains of Emperor Trajan’s villa and hunting lodge. No doubt providing the Emperor with some ‘R and R’ after a hard campaign subduing the edges of Empire. In the afternoon visit Subiaco, Sacro Speco, St. Benedict’s first abbey founded near the ruins of Nero’s villa.

This morning we explore the Barberini Gardens, laid out over the remains of a grand villa of Emperor Domitian. The gardens are attached to the Papal Villa at Castelgandolfo. We continue to Lake Nemi, where excavations recovered the remains of two ‘floating’ villa ships, built by Caligula. Having survived the end of Rome, the ships were sadly destroyed in WWII, but a museum tells their story. The Antonine emperors owned several villas in the vicinity, including one near Genzano at Lake Nemi, where a small amphitheatre seems to have been added at the time of Emperor Commodus, perhaps for him to practise? After lunch, we continue to Frascati and the baroque Villa Aldobrandini, with extensive gardens and 17th century ‘water theatre’.

We visit Hadrian’s Villa which sprawls across the rolling countryside at the foot of the hills below the town of Tivoli. Beginning around AD 117 Hadrian took a small family villa owned by his wife and added on a whole series of grand pavilions, many of them modelled after places he had seen on his travels around the empire. The complex ended up larger than most Roman cities. We visit the town this afternoon and pay a visit to the great 16th century Villa D’Este. Built by Cardinal Ippolito D’Este, the son of Lucrezia Borgia and a major figure in the church politics of the era.

We spend the morning at Caprarola to visit the staggering conception of the Villa Farnese built by Alexander Farnese, nephew of Pope Paul III, to an elaborate architectural scheme of the architect Giacomo Vignola. The mannerist and ‘wild’ gardens conceal a ‘secret garden’ and smaller villa. Then on to the Orsini/Odescalchi castle by Lake Bracciano. One of the largest strongholds in Italy, in the 15th century the Orsini family managed to repel attempts by Pope Alexander VI and the notorious Cesare Borgia to capture it. The castle was rebuilt as a luxurious fortified retreat and houses a museum.

We enjoy a day of gardens today. The famous mannerist gardens of Villa Lante at Bagnaia are our first stop. They consist of an extravaganza of 16th century hydraulic engineering which has created cascades and the famous outdoor water dining table. We later visit the enigmatic Park of Wonders (Park of Monsters) at Bomarzo conceived by a wealthy mercenary general. The extraordinary sculptures scattered about the park include the heads of monsters which served as exotic dining rooms.

We transfer to the airport for our return flight back to the UK.