The Local
AFP
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The deserted entrance to Villa d Este in Tivoli, which usually attracts thousands of visitors a day. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP
AFP
15:41 CEST
The gardens and fountains are looking more lavish than ever, the Italian director of the Unesco heritage site notes grimly, flourishing in the absence of an endless trudge of tourists. The Villa d Este, about an hour s drive from Rome, is a 16th-century marvel, a villa and park filled with ponds and manicured gardens first commissioned by a cardinal. Every day, nearly 2,000 people used to stroll along its paths, marvel at its Renaissance sculptures and take in the views from the terraced hillside.