Villa Adriana, Tivoli, Italy

Italy-7, originally uploaded by Abhishek Chandra.

The Hadrian's Villa (Villa Adriana in Italian) is a large Roman archaeological complex at Tivoli, Italy.

The villa was created at Tibur (modern-day Tivoli) as a retreat from Rome for Roman Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century. Hadrian was said to dislike the palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, leading to the construction of the retreat. During the later years of his reign, he actually governed the empire from the villa. A large court therefore lived there permanently. A postal service connected them to Rome..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Adriana