The Oval Fountain, also called the Fountain of Tivoli, is one of the fountains in the garden of Villa d'Este. It was designed by Pirro Ligorio and made in 1567; it stands to the left of the avenue of the Hundred Fountains, in a slightly secluded spot but well visible from several parts of the garden. Here arrives the water of the Aniene, brought by a channel that runs under the town.
What to see
The name comes from its oval exedra shape, with the great basin at the centre into which all the water falls. It is considered the fountain of the villa that most anticipates the Baroque, above all because of the rocks arranged by Curzio Maccarone to represent the Tiburtine hills, from which three rivers descend, the Aniene, the Erculaneo and the Albuneo, shown by three statues. At the centre is the Tiburtine Sibyl, or Albunea, holding the infant Melicertes, by Giglio della Vellita; at the sides, in niches, two river gods by Giovanni Malanca. At the top of the rocks you can see the Pegasus fountain, which seems to complete the composition.
A marble balustrade, open at the centre, lets the water fall in a dome-shaped cascade you can walk under, against a curved nymphaeum with ten nymphs pouring water from vases, the work of Giovanni Battista Della Porta to Ligorio's design. The parapet of the basin is faced with lively ceramics bearing elements of the Este arms, some of them original; opposite, in niches, two stucco statues of Bacchus stand above two rustic fountains, and the square has two large stone tables and centuries-old plane trees, three of which date from the sixteenth-century layout.
Visiting
The fountain is visited with the garden of Villa d'Este. Opening hours and tickets should be checked before visiting.
Our editors' tip
It is also called the «Queen of Fountains»: the name was reportedly given by Francesco Bandini Piccolomini, archbishop of Siena, an exile in Tivoli and guest of Cardinal Ippolito. On the south-east side of the square, in a building set against the embankment, is the Grotto of Venus, built between 1565 and 1568 to Ligorio's design.
