The city of Tivoli

The city of Tivoli is located on the slopes of the Triburtini mountains east of Rome. Being built along the river Aniene since ancient times it has enjoyed favorable conditions from both the climatic and strategic point of view, controlling all traffic to and from the Abruzzo. It is said that its origins are due to the birth of the Latin village “Tibur” in 1215 BC which soon was under the influence of Rome connected to the acropolis from the “Via Tiburtina”. The splendor and fame of this city are due to the large architectural complexes such as: the Roman Hadrian Villa , the XVI century  Villa d’Este, Villa Gregoriana.

The main urban transformation of Tivoli took place in the second century BC with the construction of impressive buildings such as the Temple of Hercules Victor (erected on its ruins a convent was built at the end of third century AD and factories and paper mills at the end of the sixth century AD) which now is in the process of archaeological excavation and restoration, the Temple della Tosse, the Forum (where the current Piazza del Duomo was built), the rectangular  shaped Temple called “Sibílla” and the round one is called “Vesta” (which later became churches) and the Roman Amphitheatre called “Bleso” erected in the vicinity of the Rocca Pia (built in 1461 by Pope Pius II). 

The construction of the wonderful Basilica of San Lorenzo (replacing the Forum) dates back to the Middle Ages. Other architectural wonders we owe to Frederick Barbarossa, who had raised the new city walls and constructed the tower-houses at strategic points of the city, not to mention the Arengo Palace, the Tower of the City and the Church of San Michele. From 1500 onwards, the city of Tivoli was enriched with the construction of new buildings such as the Villa d’Este, several palaces such as Palazzo Cenci-Alberici, Trevio, Bellini, Posterla and many others, the new municipal building (on a part of Roman walls) and then the two main churches in the city: the Basilica of St. Lorenzo (1635-40) and the Church of Jesus which was destroyed as a result of the bombing of May 1944.

1826 was a very sad year for the city that suffered severe damage due to the flood of the river Aniene, but thanks to this unfortunate incident Pope Gregory XVI commissioned huge works to divert the river: two tunnels were dug beneath Mount Catillo, which generated a large waterfall with a drop of over 100 meters of the Villa Gregoriana.