Fontana dell’Organo by Villa d’Este, Tivoli

This week, we don’t have a song or piece of music for you. Instead, we point you to the sonic marvel of Fontana dell’Organo (Fountain of the Organ) (url-shortener.me/JNAV) at Villa d’Este, Tivoli, some 30 km northeast of Rome.

Hidden within the fountain’s stonework lies a hydraulic organ, powered by the water’s flow, which releases solemn, resonant tones that drift across Tivoli’s terraced gardens. The effect is uncanny--music conjured without musicians, a harmony born of physics and imagination.

Conceived in the 16th c. by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este and designed by Pirro Ligorio, it was made by French fountain engineer Luc Leclerc and his nephew Claude Venard. After Leclerc’s death, Venard invented the ingenious mechanism of the water organ, which was installed in 1571.


Originally, the fountain began with the sound of two trumpets, followed by organ pipes playing madrigal tunes, ending with a cascade of water. The organ inside, however, went into disrepair by end-18th c….

…until it was restored in 2003, with the water-operated organ playing four pieces of late Renaissance music for 4 min. Melodies, reminiscent of ecclesiastical organs, continue to astonish visitors, who hear in them the voice of divine order in this marriage of mechanics and art.