Église des Dominicains – 1289–1364. Now disaffected as a church, displays Martin Schongauer's masterwork Madonna of the Rose Bower as well as 14th century stained glass windows and baroque choir stalls. The adjacent convent buildings house a section of the municipal library.
Started in 1283, the construction of the Dominican church mainly dates back to the first half of the 14th century. It is an important example of the mendicant orders architecture, even if the Dominicans arrived in 1278 were temporarily driven out of the city in 1330. In 1458, the roof and the cloister were damaged by a fire. After that, reconstruction works have been necessary.
In 1720, thanks to the installation of a baroque decorating, the church was less austere than before. The Dominican church was during the most part of the 19th century used to non-religious ends, before becoming again a place of worship in 1898.
Today the church displays Martin Schongauer's masterwork Madonna of the Rose Bower as well as 14th century stained glass windows and baroque choir stalls. The adjacent convent buildings house a section of the municipal library.
References:The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains: the extraordinary system contains fifty-one fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins, fed by 875 meters of canals, channels and cascades, and all working entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Tivoli had been a popular summer residence since ancient Roman times due to its altitude, cooler temperatures and its proximity to the Villa Hadriana, the summer residence of the Emperor Hadrian I.
The Villa was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (1509-1572), second son of Alfonso I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara and grandson of Pope Alexander VI, along with Lucrezia Borgia.