Villa d’Este’s Grotto of Diana reopens to the public after 50 years

The 16th century Grotto of Diana in the sumptuous gardens of the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, an hour’s drive outside of Rome, is reopening to the public after 50 years of closure and two years of meticulous restoration work. Funded by iconic Roman fashion brand Fendi, restorers from the Autonomous Institute of Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este (VILLÆ), who maintain the Renaissance estate and Hadrian’s country palace next to it, have brought the crumbling, darkened, moisture-damaged space back from the brink of dilapidation and literally turned the lights back on, showcasing the vivid polychrome wall and ceiling mosaics and reliefs as they were when they first enchanted the Este family in 1572.

The Villa d’Este, renown for the immense, complex terraced gardens with its iconic fountains that surround the extraordinary Late Mannerist villa, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. It was commissioned in 1560 by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia and her third husband Alfonso I d’Este, who had spent the previous decade vying tenaciously for the papal mitre only to fail no fewer than six times. He finally gave up and decided to retire to Tivoli. He was a dedicated patron of the arts and had been deeply involved in renovations and construction of Este palaces in Ferrara, Rome, Siena and Fontainebleau. He was also the main mover and patron behind the restoration of his ancient neighbor, the Villa Adriana, the enormous country palace complex built by the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.).

Ippolito hired architect Pirro Ligorio to create a magnificent chateau with a giardino delle meraviglie (garden of marvels) that would become a model for stately gardens in Europe. The gardens were embellished with many fountains, basins, waterfalls and grottos. There were jets that were triggered when visitors walked through the arcades and some of the first hydraulic automatons ever built.

Inspired by the nymphae of ancient Greece and Rome, the Grotto di Diana was added to the gardens between 1570 and 1572 by Paolo Calandrino. Located in the upper level of the garden on the Cardinal’s Walk, it has a cruciform chambered design with large caryatids on the corners of the cross vault. The central area has a niche against the wall with a faux natural rocky backdrop and a fountain. Three arms of the cross feature barrel vaulted ceilings, bas reliefs and another fountain, and he third arm leads to a loggia that looks out over the hills with a perfect view of Rome in the distance.

The interior of the grotto is decorated with polychrome mosaics made of a variety of materials — stucco, shell fragments, enamels, glass paste tesserae, glazed majolica, semi-precious stones — that create texture and movement in the reflection of light. The vaulted ceilings feature marine motifs and the wall mosaics feature scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The floors have brown terracotta tiles in the loggia, and colorful glazed terracotta tiles featuring the emblems from the Este family heraldry, including lilies, eagles and apples.

Restoration of the grotto began in 2023. VILLÆ conservators found missing pieces of the sculptures and reliefs, mortar loss, oxidized metal supports and rapidly deteriorating mosaics and tiles, eroded by moisture and wind. The restoration focused on the most conservative intervention, using authentic materials and techniques wherever possible while incorporating modern elements when necessary: a protective glass panel added to the loggia with the view of Rome, a new lighting system that underscores the nymphaeum’s extraordinary colors and textures, a new walkway for increased accessibility.

The Grotto di Diana officially reopens to the public on May 6th.