Roseto Comunale

History

Until 1934 the Roseto Comunale (Public Rose Garden) was the seat of the Cemetary of the Jewish Community, which was moved to the Cemetary of Verano when the roads running along the Circus Maximus and the Via di Valle Murcia, which crosses today’s rose garden, were built.

During World War II the garden was used as a huge kitchen garden and it was not until 1950 that the city of Rome requested permission from the Jewish Community to move the Roseto Comunale (which was formerly located on the Colle Oppio) to the site of the former cemetary. Permission was granted, on the condition that at the entrance a memorial of its earlier use was installed. Thsi explains the two stelae with Moses’ Tables of the Law and also why the lanes of the collection area are shaped like the menorah (the Jewish symbol of the candelabrum with its seven branches).

Garden

The garden is divided into two parts, the larger one hosting a valuable collection of ancient and modern roses (laid out in such a way that it shows the history of the rose), while the smaller area hosts the “contestants” for the International Prize Contest Roma. The tournament is held annually (in May), but the roses are often planted as far as 2 years in advance in order to let them become acclimatized  to the soil and the garden.

Where?

The entrance to the Roseto Comunale is at the Via di Valle Murcia, 6. The garden  is open to the public from May till October from 8am to 8,30pm. The phone number is: 06 5746810.

From the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel you take the metro from Rome Termini to Circo Massimo (line B, 3 stops) and then you walk north along Circus Maximus itself.  From the B&B Little Italy you take the metro line A from Vittorio Emanuele to Rome Termini (1 stop) and then you follow the previous directions).

Villa Aldobrandini

The main characteristic of the Villa Aldobrandini garden is the large number of palm trees of diffent species, from date palms to palms from the Canaries and even from as far away as Australia. The embankment towards Via Nazionale offers a marvellous row of camellias and lemon trees.

The originally sixteenth century historic villa, after the opening of Via Nazionale, became a terraced garden that can be reached climbing about 90 steps on 2 flights. Towering over Largo Magnanapoli, at the end of Via Nazionale, Villa Aldobrandini offers a magnificent view stretching from Trajan’s Market to the Quirinale.

History

Carlo Lombardi rearranged the vineyard that was bought in the second half of the sixteenth century by Giulio Vitelli, one of the Pope’s prelates. In 1600 Pope Clemens VIII Aldobrandini bought the villa, to give it to his nephew Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini as a present. It turned into an intellectual centre after Giacomo della Porta had forest trees planted in the garden and embellished it with fountains, statues and stone benches.

The villa decayed after the Pope died and the Cardinal moved to Ferrara. During Napoleon’s occupation the villa was bought by Count Miollis, the governor of the Roman States, to become one of Aldobrandini’s possessions again after Napoleon’s fall.

The Aldobrandini family sold it to the Italian government and it presently hosts the Italian Institute for the Unification of Private Law. It was opened to the public in 1926.

Directions

From the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast you walk to Rome Termini and take either the 64 or the 40 Express bus to the end of Via Nazionale.

From the Hotel Little Italy Bed and Breakfast you take the metro (line A) from Vittorio Emanuele to Repubblica (2 stops). Take bus 64 or 40 Express to the end of Via Nazionale.

Parco di Colle Oppio

The Parco di Colle Oppio is located in the area surrounded by the Via Labicana, the Via Mecenate and the Viale Monte Oppio.

It extends on a large part of the area that used to be Trajan’s Baths. The Domus Aurea, with Nero’s tomb, is also in the Colle Oppio. It will reopen to the public on February 4th, 2007.

The area was designated as a public landscape garden in 1871, though the actual work did not begin until the 1930’s, with a design by the architect Raffaele De Vico.
Water streams down from an octagonal basin and reaches in the Nyphaneum a basin surrounded by a belvedere. Here begins an alley that reaches Via Labicana, separating the Giardino delle Palme (Palm Garden) on the right and the area formerly hosting the Rose Garden on the left.

The second part of the garden, towards the Palazzo Brancaccio, was finished much later, following a design by Antonio Munôz.

It is only recently that the two parts of the park were unified and surrounded by a railing.

How to reach the Parco di Colle Oppio

From the Little Italy Bed and Breakfast

Turn right when you go out the front door of the building. Take the first left (Via Buonarroti), cross Via Merulana into Via Poliziano and turn right onto Via C. Botta. You will walk straight towards the par’s entrance (Via delle Terme di Traiano).

From the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast

Take the metro (line B) from Rome Termini to the Colosseum (Colosseo, 2 stops). Turn right upon exiting, cross the road, and walk on till you come to the steps on your left, leading up to the park.