What to see
Planned by the Ferrarese architect-engineer Alberto Galvani, the villa dominates a steep hillside dropping more than 45 metres (148 ft). The terraced gardens are a triumph of Renaissance hydraulics: to supply the complex system of arcades, grottos, and nymphaeums, the nearby Aniene river was diverted. Engineers laid 200 metres (660 ft) of underground pipes from an artificial mountain beneath the oval fountain to power the water jets. The landscape follows strict aesthetic principles, carefully divided into regular 30-metre (98 ft) compartments arranged along a longitudinal median axis intersected by five lateral axes. Notable water features include the dragon fountain, rushed to completion for Pope Gregory XIII's visit in the summer of 1572, and two later fountains commissioned by Cardinal Rinaldo I and executed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1660–61. The mature trees shading the grounds today were planted by Duke Francesco I between 1629 and 1641.
Indoors, decoration began in 1565 under chief painter Livio Agresti. The expansive fresco and stucco cycles were executed by teams led by Girolamo Muziano, Federico Zuccari, Cesare Nebbia, Durante Alberti, and Metteo Neroni. The sculptural elements were carved by Giovan Battista della Porta, Pirrino del Galgliardo, Gillis van den Vliete, Giovanni Malanca, and Pierre de la Motte, alongside ceramists and mosaic artists.
Visiting
Touring the state museum includes the lavishly decorated top floors, which Ippolito frantically renovated for the 1572 papal visit—a reception costing over 5,000 scudi that forced him to pawn his silver. The grounds show traces of Cardinal Alessandro d'Este's 1599 renovations, as well as scars from its long decline after 1695. By 1751, furnishings were sent to Modena, and antique sculptures were sold to collectors. Following occupations by French soldiers who stripped the remaining decor, the Habsburgs took possession in 1796. The estate was saved from total ruin by Cardinal Gustav von Hohenlohe, who restored it between 1850 and 1896. Before leaving, note the adjoining church, where Cardinal Ippolito was buried in a simple tomb following his death on December 2, 1572.
Our editors' tip
When examining the stonework in the grottos, keep in mind that the original project designer, Pirro Ligorio, sourced an abundant supply of marble and statuary directly from the nearby ruins of Hadrian's villa, physically uniting the ancient summer retreat of Emperor Hadrian with this 16th-century ecclesiastical estate.