During the Renaissance the Este family was a powerful family ruling in the city of Ferrara, in the north of Italy and Cardinal Ippolito was supposed to become Pope around 1560, when, as Governor of Tivoli, he started the building of a magnificent villa to hold his public relations. He never become Pope, but his gardens were embellished with allegorical fountains with the help of Bernini himself. This villa is part of UNESCO heritage since 2001.