Tusculum was, for centuries, where the rich and famous of Rome went in the hot summers to enjoy cool mountain temperatures and luxuriate in their country villas. The most famous resident was Cicero, and his villa was typical of the kind of luxury county estates enjoyed by the leaders of Empire. In the iugera outside Tusculum proper, you'll find beautiful villas everywhere, and Cicero's among the most elegant. Cicero was famous not only as a politician but for his commitment to Greek culture. He attempted through a long writing life to popularize concepts of Greek philosophy for Roman audiences, and his villa was specifically designed as an homage to Greek art, architecture and ideas.

Cicero (Vatican Museum)

Cicero was an inveterate acquirer of estates; scholars think he bought as many as 17 properties in the last 25 years of his life, usually putting himself in financial straits to do so. Often he bought adjacent properties to enlarge his gardens and fields. He ended up owning at least nine discrete estates throughout southern Italy. In his letters to his friend, Atticus, he is quite clear that Tusculum was his favorite. More, it was at Tusculum that perhaps the most heart-breaking event of Cicero's life occurred: the death of his beloved only daughter, Tullia. Here Cicero taught his philosophical students in a building he cheerfully called his "Academy," modeled after Plato's legendary Academy in Athens. Here he struggled to put his understanding of Stoic philosophy into practice in the face of personal tragedy. Here he happily gave large parties, invited wealthy and famous friends to visit, wrote, thought, and intrigued until, in the end, he was murdered by Marc Antony's soldiers not far from Tusculum.

Cicero lived in Tusculum during one of its great glory periods. Nearby were the villas of some of the most prominent Roman senators: Hortensius (Cicero's old rival in rhetoric) and Lucullus both had properties in the region. A stay in Tusculum was not only to enjoy the clear, cooler air, the mountains, the streams, lakes and gardens, but to engage in constant visiting with the rich and famous of Rome.

SOURCES:Map courtesy of Servian Walls.