VILLA OF HADRIAN

On the south-west of Tivoli Hadrian built his marvellous "villa" (between 118 and 133). This enormous building complex with a surface area of ± 120 hectare is one of the most interesting archeologic places in Italy. The whole area was provided with an underground tunnelsystem (some of the tunnels were even suitable for barrows) with a kind of independable rendering of service, without disturbing the posh upper floors. On the villa is also the Canopus (used by Hadrian as a wonderful dining room), this is one of the best architectural examples of the classic world. It takes a long small valley up and consists of a long tunnel, which is carried by a lot of pilars. On the other side of the valley are more pillars, beautified with copies of famous Greek statues.

The building is an impressive elegant summerhouse. Egyptian temples were the inspiration source for the design.