Villas and Gardens
Since its most ancient times, Rome has been characterised by the presence of vast green areas. Following the penetration of the Greek culture in the 2nd century B.C., it became the vogue for rich and noble Romans to attach their names to sumptuous gardens, called Horti. These fell into decline with the crisis of the Roman Empire, and only a thousand years later, during the...
Piazza Vittorio, as it is called more commonly, is a wide rectangular square completely surrounded by arcades in Piemontese style, unique in this type in Rome and with its dimensions of 316x147 side meters, is one of the biggest squares of the Capital. It is situated in Esquilino, an equally large area that stretches out to Piazza della Repubblica to the north, close the the...
Built in the 2nd century A.D. during emperor Hadrian's age, the Villa of the Quintili is the biggest among the Roman villas which, in those times, used to be built in the suburb of Rome. The villa was the property of two brothers belonging to the senatorial family of the Quintili. In 182 A.D. emperor Commodo sentenced them to death and took possession of all their riches...
While the Via Appia is lined with monuments and tombs of ancient Roman patrician families, many find what’s under the Appian Way to be more interesting. Below the street are miles of tunnels – known as catacombs – where the early Christians buried their dead and, when necessary, held secret church services. Several of the catacombs are open to the public and on a guided tour...
The Roma Village entertainment park complex is situated in Parco de' Medici next to the Warner Village, opens to the public. The Warner Village, which has already been operating, has eighteen cinema screens, as well as two restaurants on its central piazza.
Facilities include sixteen bowling lanes, an ice skating rink, a children's play area, an area with virtual and...
It was acquired by the Savoy House for the hunting in the end of the 19th century. Victor Emmanuel III had chosen it as a private residence (now occupied by Egyptian embassy); and B.Mussolini was arrested here on July 25, 1943. Nearly the half of the Villa belongs now to the Italian State and is open to public. Recently, a beautiful artificial lake was realized in one of its...
Giardini Vaticani (Vatican Gardens) is an ample complex of gardens "alla italiana", where presents a combination of French gardens' rationalism and games of tree masses of English gardens.
Fig: Grotta della Madonna
(See on the picture above: Grotta della Madonna). It is a reproduction of Massabielle's cave, where in 1858 the Madonna appeared before B.Soubirous. The new made...
The Palace of Belvedere was built for Innocent VII by Pollaiolo on the hill called collina of S.Egidio or of Belvedere. In 18th century it was modified for the Museo Pio- Clementino by M.Simonetti and G.Camporese.
Fig: schema p-zetto belvedere
The Pio-Clementino Museum (Museo Pio-Clementino)
Takes its name from the pope Clement XIV, who exposed here the first collections,...
It could be considered as the last of the great princely villas because it was totally remade during the 19th century by Torlonia, rich family of bankers, to compete with the analogue property of the ancient Roman noble families. The last owner of the previous villa was the Bolognetti family from who Giovanni Torlonia bought it in 1806. The architects working on its...
Located on the Gianicolo (or Janiculum) Hill the park with its 180 hectares is the largest green area in the Italian capital by including in it a number of oak trees and fence to enclose this wonderful heritage. Better known under the name of Villa Doria Pamphili (Villa Doria Pamphilj) the only change made to its perimeter that was due to "cut" for the opening of the Olympic...
These baths were begun by Septimius Severus in 206 and were finished by his son Antoninus Caracalla in 216. The model for it served the baths of Trajan. Nevertheless the works over this complex construction continued till Alexandrus Severus and restoration works till Theodorus. The baths were rich with the works of art and apart from the baths contained the gyms, libraries,...
Roman Summer Festival is a hundred days of performance, concerts, and cultural events involving the whole city, and stretches from the centre to the suburbs. The event encompasses theatre, music, performance, cinema and art. as well as the discovery of places and stimuli. The festival is an annual summer ritual in Rome. It is becoming increasingly important in the city's...
This zone was once occupied by baths that made part of Imperial residence.The baths were located to the north of the palaces and were separated from them by ample gardens. The rests of these construction were found during the works in a modern block of houses between via S.Croce in Gerusalemme and via Umberto Biancamano. These baths had a certain number of rooms and halls for...
This elliptic construction of not big dimensions (diameters 88m and 76m) served for the performances staged privately by the Imperial family and court. The name of the construction comes from Latin word "castrum" which means "court" and constructed entirely of brick and brick-faced concrete on three orders of arcades, it can be at the present time reconstructed only by antique...
This villa takes name from the its owner Zenaida Wolkonskaja, who lived in Rome in 1829-1862 and organized international cultural meetings in Palazzo Poli at Trevi Fountain. The interior layout of the Villa Wolkonsky has changed little since the 1930s and provides a wonderful setting for receiving the Residence’s many guests. A recent tree and plant census listed around 200...
