saturday and relief - a bit cooler at least at the start of the day
today we have planned a one hour journey for some sight-seeing
stretched to avoid the autostrade and to get in some rural scenery
we're heading south-east for us and directly east of rome to tivoli
sure enough the drive is as enthralling as expected on narrow roads
we gape in wonder at plantations of grapes, olive trees and sunflowers
there are towns we will return to but tivoli has 3 places on our agenda
we spot and grab a car-park on the edge of town and start the adventure
first stop - villa gregoriana - not sure what to expect here as we walk in
down actually with a steady descent on a path enveloped by greenery
we discover we are in a spectacular ravine on the edge of the town
there's a large waterfall off to one side from a man-made tunnel
the result of a large engineering project in the mid 18th century
up until then the powerful aniene river regularly flooded the town
further down we inspect the ruins of a building from the 1st century
a quite surreal feeling in the basement of this 2000 year old structure
we pass through a low tunnel to the valle dell'inferno (valley of hell)
there the flowing water disappears over rocks into a large black hole
all the while we can see the ruins of a temple perched on top of a cliff
the path then leading up to that point and spectacular views all around
apparantly this is one of the most painted landscapes in the world
a wander through the quiet cobblestone streets of tivoli (siesta time)
gelato shops outnumbering all others and so we indulge for lunch
the few restaurants open are doing it tough in the heat of this day
villa d'este is our second stop - a 4 story building facing west
it's an inconspicuous entrance from the street on the top level
corridors take us through rooms adorned with fine paintings
but the main feature are the stunning gardens and their views
more clever engineering of waterways supplying the fountains
we descend staircases and paths to be this garden of gardens
the views west across the plains to rome are simply stunning
and easy to imagine past inhabitants of the villa relaxing outside
the largest fountains and waterfalls are at the end of our wander
we exit in wonder after visiting another of italy's iconic places
but today there is one more - a short drive to hadrian's villa
we park, pay and then walk up a path to the main entrance
passing through the intact ruins of an huge and ancient wall
and so begins a walk in the heat of the day around this site
a once thriving town now in ruins - impressive as they are
hadrian was once the emperor of italy and this was his base
so most buildings are signs of rich and powerful indulgence
ballrooms, bathhouses, theatres and indoor swimming pools
we walk over, touch and peer at some incredible architecture
huge columns, intricate brickwork, marble and fine mosaics
an outdoor pool of green water surrounded by marble statues
priceless stuff i would have thought - and out there in the open
a moment (quite a few actually) to reflect again on time and place
in the heat of the late afternoon we then start our return journey
again passing through the ever-changing italian countryside
driving north-west to our home base on now familiar roads
good to get home and kick back after another fulfilling day...
