Tivoli Tit 2

In May 2012 I went to Tivoli. In August 2020 we went for my birthday and it was just as lovely 2nd time round. I even wrote a post about it but never published it so here it is!

In Tivoli there are at least two villas, I have visited one twice now: Villa d'Este. I like it because the rooms of the villa are empty so there are no furnishings to draw your eyes away from the decoration on the walls. Each room has it's own title and theme to the paintings, and I learnt that the fresco paint is painted onto wet plaster which means the paint becomes part of the plaster. This is why frescoes can be removed as they can be taken off the wall by removing the plaster. Genius.

Also the villa has a spectacular garden filled with grottoes and fountains galore, it's best to read my previous post for more info about that. Or just go visit the villa and gardens yourselves when you next get the chance, it's only an hour by train from Rome.

This time round however, in both the villa and the garden, I couldn't help noticing the amount of boobs that featured. Yep, that's right, there were breasts everywhere, and very strange ones at that. From long-necked flying bird like creatures with very round ones, to a fertility goddess with eighteen of them, and another mythical creature with water spurting from it's nipples. Very random.

I have my own ideas for why they were everywhere, but I will leave you to come up with your own reasons!