There's a town outside Rome called Tivoli, and it's well-worth going there for two or three days if you're in the area. Getting there on Italian public transport was...interesting, but we made it, and spent a happy day going round Hadrien's Villa. It was his summer palace, and was a shrine to decadence. It's an absolutely enormous site, and does pretty much take a day to explore fully. You'll find pools, baths, barracks, complete with mosaic floors, massive storehouses, Hadrien's private study, surrounded by his own moat, and his incredible outdoor banqueting area. It's a fascinating place. I'm very pleased with some of my photos from the day, but to honest, most of them aren't of the ruins themselves.
Poppies, poppies, poppies, poppies!
This statue is part of the outdoor party area. This pool would have been surrounded by columns and statues and the whole thing would have been draped with vines and candles. At the far end you can see a covered area where the feast itself would have taken place. Can you see it? The rich food, the wine, the musicians, the peace of a warm Italian summer night, the candles, the slaves, the Roman nobles in their togas and gold and the emperor Hadrien himself?
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