of his astonishing travels through Spain, 
Egypt, the eastern provinces of the em- 
pire, and—of particular interest to this 
most Hellenist of emperors —Greece. He 
was, in the wo rds ofthe scholar Tertullian, 
oranitnn curios/tat. expiorator, "an ex- 
plorer of everything interesting," and his 
villa in Tivoli reflected his restless curi- 
osity in the vast territories under his rule.

The World at Home
The relocation of Hadrian's permanent 
palace to Tibur, about so miles northeast
of Rome, had a clear rationale behind it. 
Various members of the emperor's inner 
circle had already built villas there. Good 
logistical reasons also recommended the 
site: The four main aqueducts that pro- 
vided Rome with water passed through 
the town, guaranteeing the new villa'swa- 
ter supply, and nearby quarries provided 
the main building materials.
 In and around its gardens, and lakes 
adorned with fountains and nymphs, the 
complex is brimming with breathtaking 
structures: porticoes, theaters, thermal
baths, banqueting rooms, a library, and 
even an artificial island, all decoratedwith 
exquisite mosaics, busts, and sculptures 
of gods and heroes modeled on the best 
examples of Greek statuary.
 The entry on Hadrian in the Augus- 
tan History, a fourth-century series of 
imperial biographies, describes a ruler 
fascinated by the philosophy and archi- 
tecture of the empire's easternprovinces. 
The whole villa reflected the ideas and 
sensibilities of a highly cultured ruler. 
Among its many astonishing features is

          NATIONALGEOGRAPHC HISTORY 15