In the heart of Tivoli, about an hour’s drive from San Vito Romano, the Aniene river plunges into a natural gorge over a hundred metres deep, giving rise to Villa Gregoriana, a park as spectacular as it is unusual compared to the other great villas of Tivoli: here it is not architecture or Italian-style gardens that amaze visitors, but the raw force of nature.
The park was born out of necessity: recurring floods of the Aniene had threatened the town of Tivoli for centuries, until a devastating flood in 1826 convinced Pope Gregory XVI to commission an unprecedented feat of hydraulic engineering. Two artificial tunnels were dug through Monte Catillo to divert the river’s course, creating the Great Waterfall, a drop of about 120 metres that remains one of the tallest waterfalls in Europe today. The old riverbed was transformed into a romantic park, dotted with paths, grottoes and scenic overlooks.
The visitor route winds along the gorge past the Grotto of Neptune and the Grotto of the Sirens, cavities carved out by water erosion, before climbing up to Tivoli’s acropolis, where the circular Temple of Vesta and the Temple of the Sibyl stand, two of the city’s best-preserved Roman monuments, perched on a rocky spur overlooking the gorge.
After decades of neglect and decay, the park was restored and reopened to the public in 2005 thanks to the FAI, which now manages it, giving visitors back one of the most striking natural landscapes in Lazio, suspended between 19th-century hydraulic engineering and the ruins of Roman antiquity.
Opening hours and contacts
The park is open from mid-February to December. Last entry is one hour before closing. Opening hours for 2026:
- 14 February to 20 March: 9:30 am – 5:00 pm;
- 21 March to 28 June: 9:30 am – 6:30 pm;
- 29 June to 30 August: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm;
- 31 August to 11 October: 9:30 am – 6:30 pm;
- 12 to 24 October: 9:30 am – 6:00 pm;
- 25 October to 1 November: 9:30 am – 5:00 pm;
- 2 to 29 November: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm;
- 30 November to 20 December: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm.
For the period from 21 December to 13 February, FAI does not list any opening hours.
Phone: +39 0774 332650
Email: faigregoriana@fondoambiente.it
Entrance: Largo Sant’Angelo 1, Tivoli (Rome); the exit is by the Temple of Vesta.
Opening hours may change, especially on public holidays and in bad weather: it is best to check them before setting off.
Source for opening hours and contacts: FAI - Parco Villa Gregoriana, “Visita” page (checked in October 2026).
Source: FAI - Villa Gregoriana, VisitLazio.