Tivoli Geography

Tivoli sits at about 230 metres on the western edge of the Monti Tiburtini, at the exact point where the Aniene river emerges from a gorge and drops towards the Roman Campagna. That drop is the reason for everything here: the waterfalls, the water pressure that runs the fountains, and the mineral deposits.

The water is heavily charged with calcium carbonate, which precipitates out as travertine — a pale, hard, easily worked limestone. The Romans called it lapis tiburtinus, the stone of Tibur, and quarried it here for the Colosseum and much else. The quarries on the plain below are still in production.

Behind the town the hills rise towards the Apennines and are planted almost entirely with olives; the Sabina is one of Italy’s oldest olive-growing districts. In front, the plain runs flat and hazy to Rome, which is visible from the higher terraces on a clear day.