Use Red & Cyan glasses to see this stereoscopic 3D gallery. Hadrian's Villa Hadrian's Villa The Villa of the Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli, Italy, even in ruined condition is one of the most spectacular Roman gardens of which it is possible still to get a sense by visiting the site. "Walking around it today, it is still possible to experience something of the variety of architectural forms and settings, and the skillful way in which Hadrian and his architect have contrived the meetings of the axes, the surprises that await the turning of a corner, and the vistas that open to view." Sir Banister Fletcher wrote in his History of Architecture. The villa created at Tibur as a retreat from Rome for Hadrian early in the 2nd century was a complex of over 30 buildings, covering an area of at least 1 square kilometre (c. 250 acres) of which much is still unexcavated. Hadrian's Villa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hadrian's Villa was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape, still traceable in spite of the despoliation of the ruins by the Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, who had much of the marble removed to build his gardens at the Villa d'Este nearby. (from wikipedia.org/wiki/) Maritime Theater This unique building consists of a circular Ionic portico, probably once barrel-vaulted, then a moat that surrounds a small circular island. Marine friezes were discovered here, thus the modern name of this structure. This was a sort of villa within the villa and provided a retreat from daily life. Several researchers have also suggested that this unique structure had cosmological significance with the central island representing earth, surrounded by water--an image for the primordial ocean. With the concentric circles the building becomes an image of the cosmos--the imago mundi. See especially Henri Stieren, noted below.(from http://www.bluffton.edu/) Teatro Marittimo 02 Teatro Marittimo 03 Teatro Marittimo 05 Teatro Marittimo 06 Canopus The famous monument is located in a long and narrow natural valley, partly carved to form and reinforced with walls preceeded by tabernae. The center of the vallay is occupied by a long canal with the curved north side flanked by a columnade with alternatively flat and arched architraves(Hadrian's Villa, Vision Publications). Canopus 06 Canopus 10 Canopus 11 Canopus 14 Small Temple of Venus Circular shrine of modest dimensions, within a semicircular exedrae. Here was found a copy of Praxiteles's Aphrodite of Cnidos enabling us to identify the model which was being imitated, that is the circular temple of Cnidos which contained the original statue. (Hadrian's Villa, Vision Publications). Temple of Venus 01 Temple of Venus 02 Temple of Venus 03 Temple of Venus 04 Photographed by Giuseppe Stuto, Rome, Italy Texnai Stereoscopic 3D Gallery: 2-1, Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Tel:03-3464-6927 Fax:03-3476-2372 e-mail:info@texnai.co.jp Copyright reserved by Giuseppe Stuto and Texnai, Inc.