Rumble: Hadrian's villa

This week, we took a day off and visited Hadrian's villa ("Villa Adriana" in Italian).

The villa was created at Tibur (modern-day Tivoli) as a retreat from Rome for Roman Emperor Hadrian (or "Adrian")in the early 2nd century.

Hadrian was said to dislike the palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, leading to the construction of the retreat. During the later years of his reign, he actually governed the empire from the villa. A large court lived there permanently.

The villa is a complex of over 30 buildings, covering an area of 1 square kilometre of which much is still unexcavated. The villa was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape. The complex included palaces, several thermae, theatre, temples, libraries, state rooms and quarters for courtiers, praetorians and slaves.

More posts on The Road about Italy and living in Italy.

Most pictures were taken by my oldest daughter, Lana.