Villa Gregoriana

The Aniene repeatedly flooded Tivoli, and after a severe flood in 1826 Gregory XVI had two tunnels driven through Monte Catillo to divert the river; the water now emerges from them and falls about a hundred and twenty metres into the gorge, making the Grande Cascata an engineered waterfall. The park laid out around it in the 1830s is a Romantic landscape of paths, belvederes and grottoes descending steeply into the ravine, with the ruins of a Roman villa and two small temples on the rim above. It fell derelict in the twentieth century and was restored and reopened by FAI in 2005.

History

Since ancient times the Aniene curved around the acropolis of Tivoli and fell from a limestone spur onto the plain, at first in four falls, now two, and the Romans built hydraulic works here, twelve of which are known. Pope Gregory XVI commissioned the park in 1835, when the riverbed was rebuilt after the flood of 1826 (Wikipedia, Villa Gregoriana).

What you'll find

• The Grande Cascata - a 120-metre fall emerging from a bored tunnel.
• The gorge paths - a steep Romantic circuit with belvederes and grottoes.
• The Roman temples - two small temples on the rim above the ravine.
• The Sirens' grotto - a cave behind the smaller falls.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the descent is steep and slippery in rain. It closes for winter, roughly December to February. Flow is strongest after rain.

Practical notes

The circuit is a steep descent and a hard climb back, with many steps and no shortcut. It closes for winter. Paths are slippery when wet.

Nearby

Villa d'Este is a short walk; Hadrian's Villa lies below the town.

Key facts