In 1550, the disgraced Cardinal Ippolito d'Este consoled himself by having this villa built. Designed by Neapolitan architect Pirro Ligorio, it is adorned with sumptuous gardens making full use of water features and statues in the Mannerist style. Note the church of Santa Maria Maggiore: a fine Gothic façade, and inside two 15C triptychs and a Madonna by Jacopo Torriti, a late-13C painter and mosaicist.