Villa Adriana
Villa Adriana is found in Tivoli, just outside of Rome. It was built under the direction of the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a vision of the 'ideal city'. Part of it is pictures in the photo below.
The villa is large, covering an area of more than 120 hectares. It is built on the slopes of the Tiburtine Hills, travelling along several layers of topography. It was a position of power and as such the height it was built at was a key component. During Hadrian's reign, Villa Adriana became his favoured Royal Residence and soon it resulted in the main symbol of power becoming distant from Rome.
After Hadrian's death in 138AD, power shifted back into Rome as Hadrian's successors favoured the city as their residence. The Villa continued to be worked on and enlarged during this time. However, later in it's life, the Villa became the focus of barbarian invaders and was plundered. Having fallen into neglect the Villa became a source of work as a quarry for builders.
The Villa is a complex of buildings. Although there is no planned layout for the area, there are 4 groups in which different buildings are placed.
One of the significant aspects about the Villa Adriana is that despite all of this, it has still been a great influence on architects through the ages. Because of the mix of heritages that have been used in it (Eygpt, Greece and Rome), there are many classical elements to look back at for inspiration, especially since they are all in one place.
After Hadrian's death in 138AD, power shifted back into Rome as Hadrian's successors favoured the city as their residence. The Villa continued to be worked on and enlarged during this time. However, later in it's life, the Villa became the focus of barbarian invaders and was plundered. Having fallen into neglect the Villa became a source of work as a quarry for builders.
The Villa is a complex of buildings. Although there is no planned layout for the area, there are 4 groups in which different buildings are placed.
One of the significant aspects about the Villa Adriana is that despite all of this, it has still been a great influence on architects through the ages. Because of the mix of heritages that have been used in it (Eygpt, Greece and Rome), there are many classical elements to look back at for inspiration, especially since they are all in one place.
http://www.rome.net/pictures/villa-adriana.jpg
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/907
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/907