Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli is one of the Italian UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Built by the request of the Emperor Hadrian, the Villa is a monumental living complex that even today continues to display the lavishness and enormous power of Ancient Rome. 

In Tivoli, Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana) was designed to be a home for the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 117 A.D. Construction began on top of the foundation of a pre-existing villa that belonged to his wife Vibia Sabina. The Villa, located 28 km (17.4 mi) from the Capital on the Monti Tiburtini, could be reached via the ancient Roman roads Tiburtina and Prenestina, or else by the River Aniene. 
The area was chosen for its abundant waters and availability of four aqueducts that passed through to Rome: Anio Vetus, Anio Nobus, Aqua Marcia and Aqua Claudia. 
One can still find here the sulphur water springs (the Acque Albule) that the Emperor enjoyed – today’s Tivoli Baths! 

Given archaeological evidence and certain written sources, we know that the Roman villa and the domus were partitioned into different settings with precise functions and according to a scheme that is often repeated; for example, the floor-plan of Hadrian’s Villa is comparable to those of the Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii and the Villa of Poppaea in Oplontis (near Torre Annunziata). Despite the fact that the Villa utilizes traditional architectonic language and iconography, it was in any case projected in a rather different, original style.