With Dr. Eireann Marshall

Hadrian, the emperor who travelled throughout the empire during his reign in order to bring the provinces together, built an enormous villa in Tivoli, outside Rome, which mirrored various parts of the empire. In order to encapsulate his love for Greece, Hadrian built the poikile, an enormous peristyle which recreated the famous Athenian stoa, all the while providing the emperor with the contemplative space needed in order to bring his philosophical ideas together. More famously, Hadrian recreated the Canope, the pleasure resort on Nile, in order to commemorate the love of his life, the young Antinous, who drowned in the river. The villa at Tivoli encapsulates Hadrian in another way, reflecting his passion for architecture. This is evident in the many intricate domes, as well as the innovative use of space. Nothing spells Hadrian as much as this extraordinary villa.