The Germanisches Nationalmuseum, founded in 1852, houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. With current holdings of about 1.2 million objects, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum is Germany's largest museum of cultural history.
Particular highlights include works of Albrecht Dürer, Veit Stoß and Rembrandt, the earliest surviving terrestrial globe, the first pocket watch in the world as well as the largest collection of historical musical instrument in Europe.
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.