Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tivoli

TIVOLI (Lat. Tibur), a town of Italy, situated 17 miles east -north -east of Rome on one of the spurs of Monte Ripoli, 830 feet above the sea. Its position is very striking and beautiful; it stands partly at the edge of the lofty cliff over which the river Anio falls in a most imposing mass of water. The present aspect of the fall is very different from what it was in ancient times, as the water has undermined and carried away great masses of the rock. In 1881 the population of the town was 9730, and of the commune 10,297.

Ancient Tibur was founded, according to the legend adopted by the Roman poets, many centuries before Rome, by the Siculi.^[1] They were expelled by a Greek named Tiburtus, the son of Catillus, who became the eponymous hero of Tibur.^[2] During the early historic period Tibur, which stood on the borders of the Sabine territory, was always a bitter enemy of Rome, and on many occasions allied itself to various peoples, even the Gauls, in their attacks on the city. With the rest of Latium, Tibur was finally conquered by Rome in 335 B.C., and on account of its constant enmity was treated with much severity, not being admitted to the Roman franchise till towards the close of the republican period. Almost no mention of Tibur occurs during the time of the empire; but the town is recorded to have suffered severely during the Gothic invasion in the 6th century.

Remains of its city wall still exist, built of squared blocks of tufa; but the whole circuit is not clearly determinable. Even the site of the large and wealthy temple of Hercules is doubtful, which stood in an extensive temenos, containing libraries and a porticus, where Augustus sometimes administered justice.^[3] At the edge of the cliff still stands a small circular temple, of doubtful dedication, which once had eighteen columns, and closely resembled that in the Forum Boarium of Rome. Its cella walls are of concrete faced with opus reticulatum, and its columns of travertine; it dates from about the time of Christ. Its popular name is the "temple of the Sibyl."^[4] Close by is another small prostyle -tetrastyle temple resembling that (so called) of Fortuna Virilis in Rome. Remains of the circuit wall of the forum also exist, Avith a large apsidal projection, as well as an extensive crypto -porticus, faced Avith blank arcading and divided internally by a row of twenty-eight columns. Tibur was a favourite summer residence of many wealthy Romans under the empire, and especially of Horace and Maecenas.^[5] One of the chief aqueducts of Rome, "Anio vetus," started from the Anio at Tibur. The ancient "lapis Tiburtinus" (modern travertine) was so called from its chief quarries at Tibur, where it has been during long ages deposited by the water of the river Anio.

Hadrian's villa, which stands at the foot of the Tibur spur of hill about 2 miles distant, is one of the most important Roman remains in the world. Between 1870 and 1882 the greater part of its immense area was excavated; the whole circuit was once no less than 8 miles. The scheme of this wonderful group of buildings was the fancy of the rich and highly educated emperor Hadrian, who desired to reproduce, within a short distance of Rome, a number of the chief Greek sites and buildings which he had visited in different parts of the world. Besides his own palace he built a large stoa pcecile, copied from that at Athens, an odeum, a lyceum, an academy (with its gardens, halls, and porticus), libraries, Latin and Greek theatres, a stadium, palaestra, hippo drome, baths, and many temples. Large gardens, divided into an artificial "Vale of Tempe," "Elysian Fields," and "Tartarus," were watered by a winding stream named the " Euripus. " In another place stood a "serapeum," copied from that at Alexandria, and filled with pseudo-Egyptian statues and reliefs, many of which have been recently unearthed. Barracks for the praetorian guard and rows of dwellings for slaves completed this magnificent group of buildings. In many parts the existing remains are well pre served and in some cases the uses of the different buildings can be determined.^[6] The main walls are of concrete faced with mixed brick and opus reticulatum, once wholly covered with magnificent Oriental marbles and crowded with fine Greek and Graeco-Roman sculpture; mosaic of marble and glass was lavishly used for floors, walls, and vaults, together with the most elaborate painted decorations. A large number of fine works of art have been discovered here, such as the mosaic of " Pliny's doves " and the Faun in rosso antico now in the Capitol. It is probable that the Venus de Medici came from this villa, together with many other statues found in the 16th century whose provenance is now forgotten.

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1. Dion., i. 16, and Plin., H. N., xvi. 87.
2. Hor., Od., i. 18, 2; Ov., Fast., v. 74; Virg., Æn., vii. 670.
3. 3 See App., Bell. Civ., v. 24; and Suet., Aug., 72.
4. It has also been called the temple of Vesta, but the real site of this last was on the other side of the river.
5. Hor., Od., i. 7, 10, and ii. 6, 5.
6. Many of the names given to different parts by the Roman antiquaries are based on mere conjecture.