As great as the city is, sometimes you just need a little break from the city life. This past week we escaped the city for an afternoon and headed to Tivoli. It was my first time visiting Tivoli, but it won’t be my last. I was smitten with the ancient, picturesque town. Tivoli is where ancient Roman emperors built their ‘summer homes’ just a short distance outside of Rome. Rome is filled with antiquities, but did you know history and settlement of Tivoli can be traced back to 13th century BC? Pretty incredible!
We decided to visit Villa Gregoriana. We had heard Villa Gregoriana had beautiful waterfalls, and boy did we hear correct. It was BEAUTIFUL! We had a wonderful afternoon there…complete with waterfalls, rainbows and amazing views!
Be sure to wear comfortable shoes. The steps can be a little difficult to manage in certain areas. Be prepared to do a good bit of climbing up and down stairs too. Don’t let the steps deter you though, the villa is worth a visit.
Once you make your way through the winding trails and waterfalls, you will exit the villa near the Temple of Vesta. The temple was dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of hearth and home in Roman mythology.
Directly next to the Temple of Vesta is a charming restaurant with the quaint town of Tivoli as the backdrop. We did not have a chance to eat here as we arrived a little early for dinner, but we will plan to do so next time because it looked really lovely.
Below are two short videos of the waterfalls and rainbow we saw during our visit. Hope you enjoy!
We must have dinner at this restaurant when we come back to Rome. The scenery is beautiful!