Tivoli - Villa d'Este

At the Porta Santa Croce, the southwest entrance to Tivoli, is the spacious Largo Garibaldi. A short way north of this, in the little Piazza Trento, is the entrance to the Villa d'Este (son et lumieåre shows in summer), one of the classic creations of the Renaissance period, designed by Pirro Ligorio for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este (1549). It was owned by Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Este, who was assassinated at Sarajevo in 1914. From the villa and from the beautiful gardens, laid out in terraces with magnificent fountains and cascades and what are said to be the tallest cypresses in Italy, there are attractive views of the Roman Campagna.