At the beginning of piazza S.Nicola very interesting are the medieval houses, in front of which there is the ancient S.Nicola church (from which the name of the square), now deconsecrated. The small church already existed in 1190 and was restructured four centuries later with the next hospital. Now you can go up via del Colle and then you can find the ruins of porta Saracena (o porta Romana), that was burned by the Goths, opposite to the door there is the Palazzotto (XII century). It was destined to a guard place of the gendarmerie to defend the door, and the eagle on the archivolt of the front door was wanted by Federico Barbarossa in 1155.

Walls of Villa d'Este

You can continue to go up for a few metres, then you can turn to right, going under the Arco del Macello, that inserts you in piazza del duomo, where is Tivoli's cathedral, S.Lorenzo church. On the left of the church you can see the old wash-house and then the mensa ponderaria (ponderarium), place in which are kept the measures of liquids and solids, and the Augusteum. From piazza Duomo you can go on along via di Postera, in which, at the civic numbers 6, 20 and 33, you can see three buildings, respectively of the XVI, XV and XVI century.

Immediately after the civic number 20, on the left, going on the typical alley of the wash-house, you can return to the mensa ponderaria. Continuing to go through via di Postera, immediately after, turning the corner, you can arrive to piazza Taddei, where, on the right, is possible to see at the number 8 the beautiful portal of Palazzo Quagliolino (XVI century). On the architrave you can read "Belardino Quagliolino A.D. MDL" (year 1550).
On the portal you can see the small arch, built with columns and parts of indubitable provenance: the despoliation of the emperor Adrian's villa permitted to the citizens of Tivoli to build their houses.
You can go up along via Mauro Macera meeting on the right the Palazzo del Colonnello Realis-Ciaccia (XVI century). Opposite to the entrance you can still see two columns that gave testimony of the immunity enjoyment.
A Now you can return to the starting point, or begin the second route. If you choose the first option, you can go on in via Macera, that bring you back to piazza dell'Annunziata and from here you can go on in via della Missione until via Pacifici: the small slope brings you to piazza Garibaldi.