Description
Villa Doria Pamphilj is the park Romans love most, on the Janiculum: 180 hectares of pines, lawns, little lakes and avenues just outside the walls, the third-largest public park in the city. Inside is a 17th-century villa rich in ancient statues, but people come above all to walk, run and have a picnic.
It all began with a vineyard. In 1630 the nobleman Panfilo Pamphili bought a modest piece of farmland outside the walls. A few years later a Pamphili became pope, Innocent X, and between 1644 and 1652 the Villa Nuova was built, designed by the sculptor Alessandro Algardi and the painter Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi.
At the center stands the Casino del Bel Respiro, also called the Palace of the Statues: the Baroque building has a facade and rooms decorated with ancient sculptures set into the architecture. Today it is the official venue of the Italian government. Around it are the Secret Gardens.
The Theater Garden is the most important part of the villa, built between 1644 and 1652. In 1852 Andrea Busiri Vici laid out there the avenues that circle the fountain by Giacomo Della Porta.
West of via Leone XIII the park changes face and becomes Roman countryside, with a little lake fed by an artificial waterfall. Farther on the Valley of the Fallow Deer, where fallow deer once roamed free, preserves the golden sands that gave the area its old name of "Monte d'Oro," later Monteverde.
The entrance has a story too. The Arch of the Four Winds, designed by Busiri Vici in the mid-1800s, echoes the nearby Porta San Pancrazio, through which one originally entered. Along via Aurelia Antica, the Villa Vecchia makes use of the remains of the Trajan-Paul aqueduct.
Before becoming a park, the villa was a battlefield. In June 1849 the French, who had come to crush the Roman Republic, occupied Villa Corsini, and Garibaldi's men tried in vain to retake it. During the assaults Colonel Angelo Masina died and Goffredo Mameli, author of the words of Italy's national anthem, was mortally wounded.
In 1856 Villa Pamphilj was joined to Villa Corsini and became a large farming estate. The Comune began expropriating it in 1939, via Olimpica cut it in two in 1960, and in 1971 the park was opened to everyone.
Don't miss
• The Casino del Bel Respiro.
• The Theater Garden.
• The Valley of the Fallow Deer.
• The Arch of the Four Winds.
Did you know?
• The park's avenues bear the names of famous women, from Maria Callas to Oriana Fallaci.
• Casale Giovio, in the western part, was originally a Roman tomb in the form of a little temple.
It all began with a vineyard. In 1630 the nobleman Panfilo Pamphili bought a modest piece of farmland outside the walls. A few years later a Pamphili became pope, Innocent X, and between 1644 and 1652 the Villa Nuova was built, designed by the sculptor Alessandro Algardi and the painter Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi.
At the center stands the Casino del Bel Respiro, also called the Palace of the Statues: the Baroque building has a facade and rooms decorated with ancient sculptures set into the architecture. Today it is the official venue of the Italian government. Around it are the Secret Gardens.
The Theater Garden is the most important part of the villa, built between 1644 and 1652. In 1852 Andrea Busiri Vici laid out there the avenues that circle the fountain by Giacomo Della Porta.
West of via Leone XIII the park changes face and becomes Roman countryside, with a little lake fed by an artificial waterfall. Farther on the Valley of the Fallow Deer, where fallow deer once roamed free, preserves the golden sands that gave the area its old name of "Monte d'Oro," later Monteverde.
The entrance has a story too. The Arch of the Four Winds, designed by Busiri Vici in the mid-1800s, echoes the nearby Porta San Pancrazio, through which one originally entered. Along via Aurelia Antica, the Villa Vecchia makes use of the remains of the Trajan-Paul aqueduct.
Before becoming a park, the villa was a battlefield. In June 1849 the French, who had come to crush the Roman Republic, occupied Villa Corsini, and Garibaldi's men tried in vain to retake it. During the assaults Colonel Angelo Masina died and Goffredo Mameli, author of the words of Italy's national anthem, was mortally wounded.
In 1856 Villa Pamphilj was joined to Villa Corsini and became a large farming estate. The Comune began expropriating it in 1939, via Olimpica cut it in two in 1960, and in 1971 the park was opened to everyone.
Don't miss
• The Casino del Bel Respiro.
• The Theater Garden.
• The Valley of the Fallow Deer.
• The Arch of the Four Winds.
Did you know?
• The park's avenues bear the names of famous women, from Maria Callas to Oriana Fallaci.
• Casale Giovio, in the western part, was originally a Roman tomb in the form of a little temple.