Villa d'Este, Tivoli

Cardinal Ippolito d'Este's 16th-century villa in the hilltop town of Tivoli is home to the most spectacular Renaissance garden in Italy. Over 500 fountains cascade down terraced hillsides in an orchestrated waterworks display powered entirely by gravity and natural water pressure — no pumps, no electricity. The Fountain of Neptune shoots jets 20 metres high, the Avenue of the Hundred Fountains creates a wall of water along a mossy walkway, and the Oval Fountain is carved into a natural rock amphitheatre. The villa interiors have frescoed rooms worth seeing, but the gardens are the undisputed star. Allow at least two hours to wander every level.