was delightfully situated on the Sabine Hills. The modern town, of
7000 inhabitants, has few attractions except its charming situation
and past recollections. It bore the name of Tibur in antiquity, and
during the Augustan age the Roman nobles founded splendid villas
there, among which were those of Augustus himself, Mæcenas, and the
Emperor Hadrian. The beauties of Tivoli and the surrounding country
were recorded in undying verse by Horace, whose Sabine farm was not
far distant, and who seems to have delighted to dwell in retirement in
the neighbourhood rather than in noisy, bustling Rome. The old town
held in high reverence Hercules, the Sibyl, and Vesta, and the remains
of temples dedicated to the latter are still visible immediately above
the cascades on the edge of the present city limits. It is generally
in Vesta's temple that tourists to the locality spread out and partake
of the provisions brought with them from Rome; this is only advisable
in warm weather. This circular Temple of Vesta is surrounded by an
open corridor of Corinthian columns, ten of which still remain. It was
destroyed by Lord Bristol, who wanted to carry it off to his estate
in Norfolk.
[Illustration: TEMPLE OF VESTA AND GROTTO OF NEPTUNE.]
The terrace of the temple commands a good view of the falls, which are
formed by the waters of the Anio. A swift torrent, proceeding from the
mountain heights, and leaping down a precipice at the village,
constitutes the celebrated cascades of Tivoli, one of which is three
hundred and forty feet in height. Visitors are conducted to various
spots (on donkeys or on foot) whence they may be able to catch the
finest glimpses of the rising spray, and also in order to visit the
grottoes of Neptune and the Sibyl. The path is often precipitous,
rough, and narrow, but the sight well repays the trouble of parading
over so much ground. Le Cascatelle, or small falls, are formed by a
branch of the Anio. The tunnels through MONTE CATILLO were cut in
1834, to divert the river, as when it followed the old course the town
was frequently flooded; in fact, the inundation of 1826 rendered these
new channels necessary. This flood exposed the remains of two ancient
bridges and several tombs--the one higher up the river, PONS VALERIUS,
and the other near the mouth of the tunnels, PONS VOPISCI, after the
owner of the adjoining ancient villa. The VILLA OF MÆCENAS and TEMPLE
OF HERCULES are now occupied by iron-works; in the garden are remains
of a Doric portico. Below the iron-works is the so-called TEMPIO DELLA
TOSSE, a circular building like the Pantheon, probably the tomb of the
Turcia family.
_Having seen the glen at Tivoli, take a donkey round the bank of the
glen over the Ponte Acquoria to the Villa of Hadrian. Man and donkey,
4 lire._