After more than fifty years of closure and a meticulous restoration lasting two years, the splendid Diana of Villa d’Este in Tivoli will finally reopen its doors to visitors starting From Tuesday 6 May 2025.
This authentic jewel of Italian mannerism, which remained inaccessible for almost half a century, was reported to the ancient splendor thanks to the collaboration between the Autonomous Institute Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este-Villae and the Fendi Maison, which supported the important recovery project.
A nymphaeum full of history and symbolism
Diana’s cave is a fascinating nymphaeum located in the cardinal’s walk, in the upper part of the garden of Villa d’Este, under the loggia of the winds. It was built between 1570 and 1572 by Paolo Calandrino on the inspiration of the brilliant architect Pirro Ligorio, to whom the design of the entire villa and its extraordinary park, commissioned by the cultured and refined cardinal Ippolito II of Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso d’Este, is owed.
This space was conceived as a tribute to the goddess Diana, a hunter and a symbol of virtue, and dedicated according to the sources of the time to the “Piacer Honesto et alla Costity”, in contrast to the Grotto di Venere, instead dedicated “to the appetite, and to the voluptuous pleasure”. According to more recent interpretations, however, this opposition could be seen as a mirror complementarity between the two divine figures.
A triumph of art and precious materials
By crossing the threshold of the cave, visitors will be welcomed by caryatids with fruit baskets and will be able to admire nine perfectly restored polychrome bas -reliefs. The entire internal surface is covered by a sumptuous mosaic that combines stucchi, vitre pastes, shells, majolica, stone fragments and precious stones such as amethyst and lapislazzuli.
The decorations depict marine divinities and mythological episodes taken from Ovid’s “metamorphosis”, while the artcott floor in the aged terracotta is embellished with eagles, pomis and lilies, symbols of the Estense family.
A respectful and innovative restoration
The recovery intervention has affected every aspect of the nymphaeum, favoring not only the internal decorations but addressing all the conservative problems of the structure. One of the most significant innovations was the installation of a window in the loggia overlooking Rome, a solution that allows you to protect Diana’s cave from the wind, which for centuries has contributed to the deterioration of decorative materials.
From its privileged position, the cave offers a breathtaking panorama that ranges from Mount Sorarette to the Castelli Romani, with Rome as a central landscape fulcrum.
Starting from 6 Maythis sixteenth -century masterpiece, defined at the time of its construction as a “anthal anthics ghostsagoric”, will further enrich the visit path of Villa d’Este, a site declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
An unmissable opportunity to admire a work that, at the time of its realization, aroused amazement and admiration by challenging the magnificence of ancient monuments such as Domus Aurea and becoming a model for caves and nymphaeums in the gardens of all of Europe.
