Villa Gregoriana is a natural area located in the valley between the right bank of the Aniene and an ancient Roman acropolis. Today the villa is managed by the FAI, which after having restored it, has renamed the entire area with the name of Parco di Villa Gregoriana (“Villa Gregoriana’s park”).
My visit to the complex was an unorganised and impromptu visit: in fact that day the idea was to visit Villa d’Este, but for various reasons, when we found ourselves in front of Villa Gregoriana we decided to postpone our program a day next and visit this place in Tivoli that we did not know yet. One of the two entrances, the one from which I entered, is located near Piazza Massimo, where there is a paid parking (1 euro per hour) not very big and very crowded (those who have to go to the USL for medical visits park their car here).
The entrance fee costs 7€ and the opening hours vary depending on the season, so I suggest you check them on the official website of the villa. To turn it all it takes at least two hours, except detours. There is the main path, marked with blue signs, along which you can make different diversions, characterised by different colours (such as red and yellow), which bring the visitors to discover all the points of interest in the park area.
At the entrance, you will receive a small brochure that tells the story of this place and also contains a small map, which I think you should not always have at hand because along the way there are all the necessary directions to complete the tour. You begin the walk immersed in the greenery of the park, among the remains of impressive buildings, waterfalls and vantage points: nature is the master, of course, and the ruins of the villa of Manlio Vopisco help to “contextualise” the past of this park. Not far away is the Bernini waterfall,
a sort of the first encounter with the power of the water flowing at Villa Gregoriana before arriving at the waterfall that is the symbol of the villa. I don’t want to make a list of all the places to stop during the visit (I don’t want to be boring) and the explanations inside the brochures are sufficient to understand the villa and turn it without problems. But I want to suggest you absolutely to have a look at the Great Waterfall. This waterfall is the symbol of the villa, and its noise can be recognised from afar. The staircase to go down to the lookout is made up of about 100 steps of different heights (it can be difficult both downhill and uphill), but I can tell you that it is entirely worth it and it is almost impossible, in my opinion, to be disappointed in the view of the waterfall. The Aniene valley is a unique sight from any point you look at it, but the thing that struck me the most along the way was the “Cunicolo del Miollis“. The tunnel dug into the rock, takes its name from the French general who thought this corridor drilled into the rock and which was built by lowering the workers with ropes along the rock face. The passage of the tunnel is obligatory to get to the exit, on the opposite side from the entrance to the main square, and it is undeniable that it is also impressive.
I want to conclude with some historical mention. The park of Villa Gregoriana owes its name, as it is easy to imagine, to Pope Gregory XVI. After the full Aniene of 1826, the Pope decided to exploit the works for the arrangement of the river to create a historical-naturalistic itinerary, after the flood of the 1826 Aniene which also involved the city of Tivoli. In the 1920s, at the western entrance to the park, there was a small museum with Roman tombstones, macaws and marbles: unfortunately, however. This gallery was destroyed during the bombings of 1944. In the post-war period, the park fell into decline and abandoned (it seems due to lack of funds and maintenance) until it was closed for security reasons. The Fondo Ambiente Italiano has been dealing with it since 2002, and the park has been open to the public since 2005.