St. Sebaldus Church is one of the most important and oldest churches of Nuremberg. It takes its name from Sebaldus, an 8th-century hermit and missionary and patron saint of Nuremberg. It has been a Lutheran parish church since the Reformation.
The construction of the building began in 1225. the church achieved parish church status in 1255 and was completed by 1273-75. It was originally built as a Romanesque basilica with two choirs. During the 14th century several important changes to the construction were made: first the side aisles were widened and the steeples made higher (1309–1345), then the late gothic hall chancel was built (1358–1379). The two towers were added in the 15th century. In the middle 17th century galleries were added and the interior was remodelled in the Baroque fashion. The church suffered serious damage during World War II and was subsequently restored. Some of the old interior undamaged includes the Shrine of St. Sebaldus, works by Veit Stoss and the stained glass windows.
The church had an organ by the 14th century, and another by the 15th. The main organ had been built in 1440–41 by Heinrich Traxdorf, who also built two small organs for Nuremberg's Frauenkirche. Until its destruction in the 20th century it was one of the oldest playable organs in the world. The Traxdorf organ was rebuilt in 1691. The modified case was destroyed by the Allied forces during a bombing raid on 2 January 1945.
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.