Outdoors in Rome

Here is a selection of the best outdoor sites to visit all around the city of Rome.

Villa Borghese Gardens

Villa Borghese Pinciana or Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill, also known under the name the Casino Nobile is a Roman suburban villa, built for the wealthy and well-known Borghese family. The villa was designed by Flaminio Ponzio, an Italian architect during the late-Renaissance or so-called Mannerist period, serving in Rome as the architect for Pope Paul V, in 1605. The villa was commissioned by Scipione Borghese, a cardinal and a nephew of Pope Paul V, as well as an extravagant patron of arts. He collected one of Europe's finest collections of arts: including paintings, sculptures and antiquities, which are nowadays a part of the famous Galleria Borghese. The villa was originally built to house his fine collection of arts, as well as the notable gardens and park surrounding it. The design of the gardens and grounds surrounding the villa was also entrusted to Flaminio Ponzio, who was, after his death, replaced by architect Vasanzio and his collaborator Jan Van Senten.

The park was one of this kind in Europe, organized as a formal garden, in the naturalistic English manner, with a number of buildings, museums and attractions, divided by avenues and decorated with antique sculptures. It was the second largest public park in Rome, spreading over 80 hectares or 148 acres; the second largest after the gardens of the Villa Doria Pamphili. Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who was also the patron of Bernini, turned the former vineyard at this site into the most extensive gardens built in Rome since Antiquity. The vineyard, according to some historical evidence, was on the site of the gardens of Lucullus, the most famous gardens in the late Roman republic.

It was quite exotic for this period: it contained around 400 trees, as well as numerous statues sculptured by Pietro Bernini, father of the most famous Roman sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini.  There were also numerous fountains, secret flower gardens, numerous wild and exotic animals and bird species. The special attractions were the grotto with artificial rain, a speaking robot and a trick chair which trapped anyone who sat in it!!! At first, the park was opened to the public, but due to a large number of exotic species and plants, Pope Paul V made it a private garden. In 1773, the park was redesigned, as the large landscape park in the English manner, and enriched with several villas. There was a balustrade erected, dating from approximately 1816, in the gardens, which was taken later to England in the late 19th century, and installed in Cliveden House, a mansion in Buckinghamshire, in 1896.

The redesigned garden thus contained: the Galleria Borghese (nowadays housed in the Villa Borghese itself; the garden Casino Borghese, built on a rise above the Villa by the architect Giovanni Vasanzio and set up by Camillo Borghese to contain sculptures by Bernini from the Borghese collection (including his David and his Daphne), and by Antonio Canova (Paolina Borghese), with paintings by Titian, Raphael and Caravaggio; the Villa Giulia adjoining the Villa Borghese gardens, dating from the period between 1551 - 1555, built as a summer residence for Pope Julius III; now it houses the Etruscan Museum (Museo Etrusco); the Villa Medici, now home to the French Academy in Rome, and the Fortezzuola, which is a Gothic garden structure, housing a collection memorializing the academic modern sculptor Pietro Canonica (Diego Velázquez painted several depictions of this Villa's garden casino festively illuminated at night); other villas scattered through the Villa Borghese gardens, which are remains of a world exposition in Rome in 1911; the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna located in its grounds, featuring a collection of 19th and 20th century paintings emphasizing Italian artists; a 1911 exposition English pavilions which are designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens (who later designed New Delhi), now housing the British School at Rome. In the northern part of the garden was the so-called Museo Zoologico, as well as small zoo named Bioparco, specialized in conservation of the plant varieties.

The garden was linked to the city center by the Spanish Steps which directly lead up to this park. There was another entrance at the Porte del Popolo by Piazza del Popolo. The Pincio (or the Pincian Hill of ancient Rome), in the south part of the park, offers one of the greatest views over Rome. Finally, the garden and the surrounding grounds were bought by the commune of Rome and given to the public in 1903.

Together with Villa Giulia, the Villa Borghese and the Villa Borghese gardens form one large park, known as the Giardino del Lago, which has even a small artificial lake in its center. The small island in the center of the lake has a fake Ionic temple, dedicated to a Greek god of health, Aesculapius, designed by Antonis Aspurucci. There is also a circular temple dedicated to Diana, situated between the Porta Pinciana and Via Veneto. In the northwest part of the park is the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, containing a large collection of 19th century and 20th century art.

Borghese Gallery

The Borghese Gallery or Galleria Borghese is an art gallery, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana also known as Casina Borghese, containing a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculpture and antiquities, collected by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V (reign 1605–1621). The Villa Borghese, in which the gallery is housed, was built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese himself, who used it as a villa suburbana. Scipione Borghese, was an extravagant patron of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which collected many masterpieces of art: works by Caravaggio, represented in the collection by his works Boy with a Basket of Fruit, St. Jerome, Sick Bacchus and others; Titian's Sacred and Profane Love, Raphael's depiction of the Entombment of Christ and works by Peter Paul Rubens and Federico Barocci.

The Villa Borghese was placed on the outskirts of Rome, surrounded by wonderful garden and grounds, filled with fountains, sculptures, and wonders: the Vivarium; that housed ostriches, peacocks, swans and cranes "and divers strange Beasts"; fountains of sundry inventions, Groves and small Rivulets of Water, as it was described by 17th century poet John Evelyn. Prince Marcantonio IV Borghese (1730-1800) began the redesign of the park's formal garden architecture into an English landscape garden around 1775, under the guidance of the architect Antonio Asprucci. He commissioned the renovation of the Casina, restaging the Borghese sculptures and antiquities in a thematic new ordering that celebrated the Borghese position in Rome.

The Borghese Gallery is spread throughout the Villa, in in twenty rooms across two floors. The first floor contains classical antiquities, dating from the 1st–3rd centuries AD (including a famous 320-30 AD mosaic of gladiators found on the Borghese estate at Torrenova, on the Via Casilina outside Rome, in 1834 and classical and neo-classical sculpture such as the Venus Victrix). The decorations of this floor include a trompe l'oeil ceiling fresco in the central hall, also known as the Salone, in the first floor by the Sicilian artist Mariano Rossi.

The largest part of the collection were works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which include a large percent of his lifetime output of secular sculpture, starting with a juvenile works like the Goat Amalthea with Infant Jupiter and Faun (1615) to his dynamic Apollo and Daphne (1622–25) and David (1623), which are considered outstanding works of the baroque sculpture. There are also three busts by this sculptor in the gallery: the two of Pope Paul V (1618–20) and an interesting portrait of his first patron, Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1632). There are also several mannerist works such as Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius (1618–19) and the Rape of Proserpine (1621–22). The upper floor of the Galleria houses a collection of Baroque and Renaissance masterpieces, like Raphael's masterpiece the Deposition, several works by Caravaggio, the interesting painting by 16th century artist Correggio, and other notable works by masters Pinturicchio, Barocci, Rubens and Titian.

The Villa also houses the National Museum of Musical Instruments, featuring a collection of instruments from not only western cultures but also instruments from ancient cultures (such as Egyptian, Greek, and Roman) and instruments from America, Africa, and Oceania; which was largerly donated by opera singer Evan Gorga. As a matter-of-fact, this collection of musical instruments is the largest collection ever given to the museum in the world!!!

Villa Giulia

Villa Giulia was a Roman villa, built by Pope Julius III in 1550–155 on Rome's outskirts, an area of Rome known as the 'Vigna Vecchia'; and is nowadays housing the Museo Nazionale Etrusco, an impressive collection of Etruscan art and artifacts. Pope Julius III was an extravagant patron of arts, who also took a direct interest in the villa's design and decor and spent vast amounts of money on enhancing its beauties. The building was designed by to Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola in 1551–1553, while the nymphaeum and other garden structures were designed by Bartolomeo Ammanati, under the supervision of Giorgio Vasari. It had an urban entrance (on the Roman Via Flaminia) and a formal but rural garden entrance.

The villa si considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of Mannerist architecture, with a wonderful two story facade with each story being given equal value, with Doric pilasters at each end and and with a triple rhythm of a richly detailed rusticated triumphal arch flanked by symmetrical wings of two bays. It is considered to be the reolemodel for many 18th century Georgian villa, reproduced as far away as the Tidewater region of Virginia. At the back the villa has a arge hemispherical loggia overlooking the first of three courtyards; enclosed by a paired flights of re-entrant marble steps which give access to the heart of the villa complex: a two-story Nympheum for alfresco dining during the heat of the summer. This composition of three-levelled structure of covered loggias, decorated with marble statuary, reclining river gods in niches, and balustrading, is constructed around a central fountain. The central fountain, Fontana dell'Acqua Vergine, was designed and sculpted by Vasari and Ammannati, depicting river gods and caryatids; supplied by the Acqua Vergine.

Inside the villa are various masterpieces. The rooms 1-10 feature various artefacts from sites like the Vulci (mostly Warrior's Tomb) and Bisenzio, Veio nad Cerveteri. In the rooms 11-18 is the Antiquarium collection, featuring domestic and votive objects and ceramics, including the Chigi vase from 6th century BC; Room 19 holds the Castellani collection, including an early 6th century ceramics nad bronzes; Rooms 24-29 contain finds from the Ager Faliscus, which is an area between Tiber and Lake Bracciano; Rooms 30-34 feature finds from many various sites including the Temple of Diana at Nema.

The most interesting were the Villa's gardens, which consisted of more that 36,000 trees, surrounded by pavilions and fountains. There was also an outstanding collection of sculptures. The grandeur of this place could be seen in the fact that after the death of Pope Julius III, the founder of villa and gardens, when 160 boats filled with statues and ornaments were sent to Vatican!!!

Sant'Agnese fouri le Mura

The basilica of Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura, literally meaning "Saint Agnes Outside the Walls" is situated on the Via Nomentana at some distance outside the Aurelian Walls, which encircled the ancient city, and dates from the 4th century AD. The church is dedicated to St Agnes, whose bones are entombed inside this basilica.  The basilica was as a matter-of-fact built above the crypt of the 13 year old marytr St Agnes. In the fourth century the soft rock was hollowed out around Saint Agnes's tomb to create a gathering space, probably for her family to observe the anniversary of her death, but through time it became a pilgrimage site and finally a church was built. Constantina, daughter of Emperor Constantine, enlarged the underground area around 340 AD and built a large private mausoleum over it, which is now known as the "mausoleo di Santa Costanza".

The basilica was rebuilt by Pope Honorius I in the middle of the 7th century. The floor level of the 7th century church were at the level of the catacomb floor, and the public street entrances were at the level of the second floor gallery. From the period of Honorius' renovation are still present some mosaics. It is interesting that, this church was also built with a separate upper gallery for women (matronaeum), which is similar to that of San Lorenzo fuori le mura.
Nowadays, the basilica is a part of a complex, which also includes the mausoleum of Santa Costanza. The complex stands on top of an important cemeterial complexes in Rome, with over 10 kilometers (6 miles) of corridors, of which only a couple are accessible.

Santa Constanza

Church of Santa Constanza, dates from the reign of Emperor Constantine I and was built as a burial place (mausoleum) for his daughters Constantina and Helena (Constantina was venerated as saint with the Italian name of Costanza). The church was built next to the cemetery of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura. The reason for this site lies in the legend that there, Saint Agnes, who allegedly had healed Constantina, was buried. The mausoleum was consecrated as a church in 1254 by Pope Alexander IV, and Constantine's daughters Constantina and Helena were buried there.Today's building rests at the southern flank of the cemetery basilica of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura, not far from the Via Nomentana some three kilometers north of the gates of the Aurelian Walls.

The building is circular, with a central circular chamber and a ring-shaped ambulatory, which is separated from the central chamber by twelve pairs of radiating columns. There was also an outer ambulatory, but through time it was lost. The church's interior is decorated by a number of ornaments, with marble and tesserae mosaics, which are a kind of mixture of both pagan and early Christian provenance. The twelve pairs of columns which divide the central chamber from the ambulatory, are of fine green and red marble. The ambulatory's ceiling is vaulted, and decorated with mosaics, depicting classical themes of Bacchic myth and early Christian beliefs. These are probably the world's earliest surviving Christian mosaics. According to several experts, the mosaics were probably copied from a secular Roman floor. The mosaics depict various flowers, animals and birds, with even a scene of Roman grape-harvest., alluding to the wine as a symbol of Christ's blood.

The church was restored in the 17th century by Cardinal Fabrizio Veralli. The magnificent porphyry sarcophagus of Constantina, carved with cherubs crushing grapes, was then moved to the Vatican Museums, where it can be seen today.

San Paolo fuori le Mura

Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura, also known as the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of four churches considered to be the great ancient basilicas of Rome (the other four are Basilica of St John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore and Basilica of St Peter's). Roman Emperor Constantine I built this basilica on the site of burial place of Saint Paul's. According to the legend, St Paul's followers, after the Apostle's execution, erected a memorial, called a cella memoriae, which marked his grave. Emperor Valentinian I expanded this memorial and on top of this Emperor Constantine I built a church.
After Constantine I, in the 4th century, Emperor Theodosius I began the erection of a much larger and more beautiful basilica. This edifice consisted of a nave and four aisles with a transept; the work including the mosaics was not completed till the pontificate of Leo I; and was even larger than the Old St. Peter's Basilica. This edifice was dedicated to Saints Taurinus and Herculanus, martyrs from Ostia, so the basilica was named "trium Dominorum" ("basilica of Three Lords").

Another modification occurred in the 6th century, when Pope Gregory the Great raised the pavement, and thus placed the altar directly over St Paul's tomb; and entrusted the near-by monks of St. Aristus's and St. Stefano's to take care of the basilica. In the 9th century, during the Saracen invasions, the basilica was damaged so Pope John VIII  fortified the basilica, the monasteries, the dwellings of the peasantry and thus forming the town of Joannispolis, which existed until the 14th century.

The church retained its original look for 1435 years, until the unfortunate fire in 1823, when the basilica was almost totally destructed. This unfortunate event  moved many people, so the entire world contributed to its reconstruction: the Viceroy of Egypt sent pillars of alabaster, the Emperor of Russia sent the precious malachite and lapis lazuli of the tabernacle, the principal facade was completed by the Italian Government, and so on.

After this event, the basilica was declared a national monument. The basilica was reopened in 1840, but again reconsecrated only fifteen years later by Pope Pius IX, due to an explosion at Porta Portese which destroyed the stained glasses.
The rebuilt basilica maintained the original structure with one nave and four aisles, with a covered portico and a 20th century door which includes the remains of the leaves of the original portal, executed by Staurachius of Chios around 1070 in Constantinople, depicting the scenes of the New and Old Testament.

The interior also retains the interior portion of the apse with the triumphal arch from the original basilica, with original 5th century mosaics of the triumphal arch, portraying the Apocalypse of John, with the bust of Christ in the middle, flanked by twenty-four doctors of the church, all encircled by the flying symbols of the four Evangelists. There are also the tabernacle of the confession of Arnolfo di Cambio from the 13th century, the statue of Pope Boniface IX; and a 13th century cloister built by Vassalletto in 1205-1241, with beautiful double columns decorated in mosaics. As a matter-of-fact, the basilica was the official seat of the Latin Patriarch of Alexandria from 1215 until 1964.