ORANGEN GARDEN at AVENTINE Hill
GIARDINO DEGLI ARANCI

The orange garden – Giardino degli Aranci – owes its name to the orange trees that grow here. (A little note: the oranges are not suitable for eating, they are very bitter!). Originally, this was a garden of the Savelli family, who had their seat here in the 13th century. The fact that oranges can be found here today is thanks to St. Dominic, who planted the first orange tree in the country. This was seen as a kind of miracle tree that bore orange-bright fruit every year.

The atmosphere in this garden is enchanting! There is usually someone playing a violin or guitar, which only adds to the flair! However, the orange trees are not really the highlight of the garden – but the viewing platform (the Terrazza Belvedere Aventino)!

An avenue of pine trees leads to it, in the middle of which you can see the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. While walking through this avenue, look at the dome. Do you notice a difference in the size of the dome at the beginning and at the end of the avenue? The dome gets smaller (yes, smaller!) with every step. When you stand at the beginning of the avenue, it looks huge, and the closer you get to it, the smaller it gets. Why is that? An optical illusion …

But back to the platform. Once there, you have a wonderful, breathtaking view of Rome: you can see St Peter’s, the Tiber, the Synagogue, even the Pantheon, the Vittoriano and all the way to Gianicolo Hill! An enchanting view that invites many to take beautiful souvenir photos here!

From the Orange Garden you can also see the walls of the former palace of the Savelli family, who donated their entire complex to the Dominican Order.

BUCO DELLA SERRATURA DELL’ORDINE DI MALTA
The NO LONGER COMPLETELY "SECRET" KEYHOLE

Following the path to the top of the hill, you come to a square called Piazza dei cavalieri di Malta (Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta). The villa standing here, the headquarters of the Knights of Malta, which houses the Order’s embassy, is not open to the public.

Nevertheless, its façade, or rather one of its doors, has something very special, even unique, to offer us visitors.

In the 18th century, the architect Piranesi designed the building and the garden inside. In the process, he created an avenue of laurel trees through which one can see St. Peter’s Basilica. Exactly where the avenue begins is the wall of the villa, which can be entered through a simple door. But anyone who comes here will see that no one steps through the door, but only looks through its keyhole.

Why is that? Simple: looking through the keyhole reveals a unique view of St. Peter’s Basilica that is fascinating even if you have seen it 10 times! And even if the queue is long: it is certainly worth the wait!

At this point I would also like to mention that the wait would also be less long if everyone didn’t try to take photos through the keyhole. The attempts are mostly futile! Some people manage it – I didn’t. But I also had difficult conditions: a lorry was parked right in front of the cathedral. So I’ll show you how NOT to do it 😉
The effect is only really beautiful with your own eyes anyway!

By the way, the Order of the Knights of Malta has its origins as early as the 11th century. Since 1834, the seat of this Roman Catholic order has been in Rome, since 1869 even with exterritorial status (and its own licence plate… like the Vatican State).