It’s not hard to imagine what kind of man Ippolito d’Este would have been. Born into wealth and privilege and made Archbishop of Milan at 9 year of age, style and grandeur seem to be a part of his DNA. The gardens below his villa were designed to be the best of anything created at the time, and while he had no problem using the church as a means for gaining more influence, celibacy apparently wasn’t his thing, The gardens served as a site for gatherings of musicians and prostitutes with feasts to impress “higher ups” who required favor.
