In Tivoli, about 30 km east of Rome, is Villa d’Este, a masterpiece of architectural art and garden design. In 2001, the two-story Villa - residence of the d'Este family - and the surrounding gardens were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Initially, the Villa was established as a Benedictine monastery. Later, around 1550, it was transformed into a summer residence. Villa d’Este was rebuilt on the order of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este (1509–1572), son of Alfonso I d'Este, Prince Ferrara and Modena, and Lucretia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI. Another pope - Julius III appointed Ippolita as administrator of Tivoli and gave him the Villa as a gift. The Villa building is located on a hill. Right next to it is a musical fountain, and in front of it a terrace on the embankment, from which there is a view of the most spectacular part of the gardens. The author of the main fountain of Villa d’Este is Bernini. This so-called The Great Chalice, or Bicchierone in Italian. Above The Great Chalice there is a fountain which is also an organ. The water in this fountain flows through a system of special pipes, as a result the fountain makes sounds reminiscent of church organs.