Villa d'Este, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, represents a masterpiece of the Italian garden with its impressive concentration of fountains, nymphs, grottoes, water features, and hydraulic music. Commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, the Villa was nearly completed by his death in 1572. The architectural and iconological program throughout the monument was designed by Pirro Ligorio and executed by Alberto Galvani.

The palace was decorated by leading figures of late Roman Mannerism. Further interventions in the seventeenth century followed a period of decline until Cardinal Gustav Adolf von Hohenlohe revived its splendor by hosting the musician Franz Liszt. Acquired by the Italian State in the 1920s and 1930s, the Villa was restored and opened to the public.