JN turning from the gardens of Rome and 

 its immediate environs, the Villa d'Este, 

 at Tivoli, is the most important, and, in 

 fact, if one could study but a single villa in Italy, this 

 should be the chosen one. 



In its day it was undoubtedly the finest villa in 

 Italy, and although it is now in a state of great dilapi- 

 dation and decay, its natural advantages and the great 

 beauty of its situation are such, and the construction 

 of its main features so admirable, that it still remains 

 a noble example of landscape architecture of the Re- 

 naissance. Not nearly so large as the Borghese or 

 the Pamfili Villa, every inch of its ground has been 

 utilized to the utmost, and the whole arrangement is 

 compact and complete. 



The site of the palace is at the top of an abrupt 

 hill-side, overlooking the Campagna, and the archi- 

 tect's problem lay in the treatment of the extremely 

 abrupt slope, there being no natural flat ^pace except 



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