Rise above Trastevere's rooftops for the finest panorama in Rome: the tree-lined Passeggiata del Gianicolo, the noon cannon and the villas and gardens that surround the hill.
עודכן לאחרונה 23 באוגוסט 2026
In a nutshell: the Gianicolo is Trastevere's green crown - the best views over Rome, a cannon that fires at noon, and villas, gardens and catacombs on its slopes. Start from the district overview, visit Santa Maria in Trastevere below, explore Porta Portese and the south or eat and drink by night.
Not just a stunning viewpoint over St Peter's dome, Via Piccolomini also hides a fascinating optical illusion that is sure to make your walk there worth it. Once you turn into the street, no matter which other street you are coming from, you will see a massive St Peter's dome that seems to grow smaller the closer you get. It works whether you are on foot or in a car, and it is really quite trippy the first time you experience it. It is not a trick, however: just good old space perception, which makes this particular viewpoint one of the most unique in the entire city.
Even though it does not make the traditional list of the seven Roman hills, the Gianicolo, also known as Janiculum Hill, is not to be underestimated. It has some of the most magnificent panoramic views in the entire city, and its green-shaded avenues are perfect for children and adults alike to stroll through. It is a place of quiet tranquillity amid the chaos of the Eternal City.
Tip: Getting to the Gianicolo by public transport can be a bit of a hassle, but what awaits you at the top is definitely worth it.
Some history: legend has it that the Gianicolo was first the location of a small village founded by the Roman god Janus himself, hence the name Gianicolo, or Janiculum, the god who presided over beginnings and endings with his two faces. The half-historical, half-mythical chronicles of the first days of Rome continue by saying that this area was originally a domain of the Etruscans before being annexed to Rome by one of its famous seven kings, Ancus Marcius. What is certain is that after the Unification of Italy in the latter half of the 1800s, the Gianicolo became a sort of monument to the Risorgimento and then to the Republic. On top of the hill you can find two monuments to the famed general Giuseppe Garibaldi and his wife Anita, as well as a series of busts dedicated to the most illustrious of Garibaldi's soldiers. On the northernmost side of the hill you can also see the Faro del Gianicolo, a monument commemorating the 50th anniversary of the unification, built thanks to the contributions of the Italian community in Buenos Aires as a testament to their bond with Italy.
The very first garden to appear on the northernmost slopes of the Gianicolo was one of fruit trees and medicinal plants, whose creation was ordered by Pope Nicholas III around the end of the 13th century. The actual ancestor of the modern-day Orto Botanico, though, was initiated by Pope Alexander VI in the 16th century, and from there it flourished to become one of the most significant botanical gardens in Europe. Today the 12 hectares of the Orto Botanico are home to up to 8000 different types of plants, including some that are very rare anywhere else on the continent, as well as several families of happy ducks and quiet red fish.
Located at the bottom of the Gianicolo, Regina Coeli is Rome's prison, infamous throughout Italy. Since the distance in a straight line between Regina Coeli and the Faro del Gianicolo is not that great, it was customary for relatives of the prison's inmates to gather at the Faro and communicate with them by shouting, mostly encouragements or important personal news, which is why the police usually did not interfere.
One of the main attractions of the Gianicolo is the breathtaking view over Rome that its height allows you to enjoy. The Passeggiata del Gianicolo is sometimes obscured by trees, that is true, but when the trees are not there, your gaze can span over Rome's myriad of domes as well as the winged victories on top of the Vittoriano.
The Gianicolo is also home to a long-standing Roman tradition: a cannon located just a few metres below Garibaldi's monument shoots a single blank shot as soon as the clock strikes noon. It is a much beloved ritual introduced by Pope Pius IX in 1847 as a way to synchronise all the clocks and bells around the city, and it has stuck to this day. Initially stationed on Castel Sant'Angelo, the cannon was moved to the Gianicolo in 1904. It remained silent during the years of WWII, so as not to create panic, as well as for some years after, and went back to its original duty in 1959. On particularly quiet days, its booming noise can be heard as far as the Esquilino, all the way over on the other side of the river next to the Colosseum.
This church, on the slopes that climb up to the Gianicolo, is the place where it is believed St Peter was crucified. It is also the final resting place of the popular Roman heroine Beatrice Cenci, a noblewoman executed in 1599 for having murdered her violent father. The church has a relatively simple facade but a richly decorated interior, including a chapel designed by Bernini, the Cappella Raimondi, the second one on the left-hand side. Its main feature is the Tempietto del Bramante, a 'little temple' nestled in one of the church's inner courtyards.
Tip: Dating to the first years of the 16th century, the tempietto is widely considered one of the best examples of Renaissance-style architecture: a circular floor plan, geometric harmony between all parts, and a look that echoed the works of ancient Rome. Commissioned by the Spanish rulers King Fernando of Aragon and Queen Isabel of Castile to discharge a vow, it was praised far and wide by Bramante's fellow architects, like Palladio, and went on to have a significant influence on similar works of the period.
Official site →The grattachecca, somewhat halfway between a drink and a slushy, is one of Rome's staples, even though you can find alternative versions of it throughout Italy. It is incredibly simple to make: all it takes is some ice shaved off a massive block and the fruit syrup of your choice to have a refreshing snack. Sadly, there are very few kiosks left that serve the grattachecca prepared the traditional way rather than with crushed ice cubes. One of them is Sora Mirella Caffè along the riverbank, which is also an excellent place to take a leisurely stroll.
The beautiful Palazzo Corsini alla Lungara was commissioned in the 15th century by the Riario family, who were related to the then Pope Sixtus IV, like most Roman noble families have been at some point or another. The palace's most distinguished guest has to be Queen Christina of Sweden, who lived here in the 17th century after converting to Catholicism, abdicating her throne and moving to Rome; she reportedly spent her days holding alchemic circles and mundane events, as well as entertaining her steady stream of lovers. The palace was sold to the Italian state in 1883, and today it houses the Galleria Corsini, which displays the vast collection the Corsini family accumulated over the centuries.
Tip: Book ahead if you plan to visit on the first Sunday of the month, when entry is free.
Official site →The collection: among the gallery's most famous pieces are Caravaggio's San Giovanni Battista (St John the Baptist, 1604), Rubens's San Sebastiano curato dagli angeli (St Sebastian Tended by Angels, 1602-03) and Beato Angelico's Trittico del Giudizio Universale, Ascensione e Pentecoste (Triptych of the Last Judgement, Ascension and Pentecost, 1450-55).
The Palazzo Corsini was the theatre of one of the most violent battles of the Siege of Rome of 1849, and among the many soldiers wounded to death there is one by the name of Goffredo Mameli, barely in his early 20s. A poet and a patriot, his compositions included the 1847 'Canto degli Italiani', literally 'Song of the Italians', which his fellow patriot Michele Novaro arranged into music. That song is now known as the 'Inno di Mameli', or 'Hymn of Mameli': Italy's national anthem, recognised as provisional in 1946 and official in 2017. While Mameli's original text includes six verses and a refrain, the anthem is performed by repeating the first verse twice and adding the refrain at the end of the second repetition.
While much smaller than its neighbours, Villa Doria Pamphilj and even the Gianicolo itself, Villa Sciarra is a delightful green corner named after, you guessed it, a noble Roman family who could claim a pope in its lineage. The land was bought in the mid-17th century, when it was already lush and rich with trees and vegetation, as it had been since ancient Roman times, by Cardinal Antonio Barberini. It was through his family that it passed to the Sciarras, thanks to a fortuitous marriage between the two families. Eventually its last owners, a rich American couple, bought it at the beginning of the 20th century and donated it to the public in 1928, although they did so by going through Benito Mussolini. You can still see the plaque commemorating this gift, although Mussolini's name has been hammered out.
Today the villa features some delightful fountains, like the Fontana dei Satiri, decorated with two little satyrs playing with a goat, a turtle pond and the peculiar Esedra Arborea, a semicircular hedge with 12 niches, each housing a statue meant to personify one of the months of the year.
If you are a fan of movies old and new, check out Il Cinema in Piazza, a yearly event running from the beginning of June to the middle of July that turns Piazza San Cosimato into a beautiful open-air cinema. Run by the staff of the Vecchio Cinema America, which is nearby and the perfect stop if you do not happen to visit in summer, it organises free showings of all sorts of movies. The titles chosen usually follow a theme and are more often than not grouped by director. If you are lucky, you might catch one that is introduced by a lecture given by people who contributed to making that particular movie.
The park of Villa Doria Pamphilj is the largest landscaped park in Rome, dotted with fountains and gardens and with statues at seemingly every corner. A welcome respite from the bustle of such a busy city for locals as well as tourists, it is the perfect place to take some time and just wander around.
Tip: The park is vast and full of curiosities but sadly somewhat lacking in signage, so embrace the art of wandering around aimlessly. Similarly, there is a distinct lack of bathrooms within the park itself, so keep that in mind, especially if you are travelling with children who might need frequent rest stops.
Some history: what is known as Villa Doria Pamphilj is actually the entire estate, which includes the 184 hectares of Rome's largest public park. The estate was the property of the patrician family of the same name, who began to climb through the ranks of the Roman aristocracy when one of their own became pope under the name of Innocent X, around the mid-17th century. Nobleman Panfilo Pamphilj acquired the land that is now part of the park around 1630 and immediately put his architects to work, intending this place to become the family's country retreat, since back then it was located a good distance away from the city walls. In time, the estate was acquired by the Italian state in 1957 and opened to the public in 1971, after having been 'cut' in two to allow a motorway to run through it.
Since the whole estate belongs to the Italian state, it is no surprise that some parts of it are also used for official ceremonies. That is the case for the Casino del Bel Respiro, a smaller residence inside the larger area of the villa, so called because of the generally pleasant air you can enjoy here, as opposed to the chaos of the city centre. The casino officially belongs to the Italian government and is used as a reception venue for visiting foreign dignitaries. While it is technically possible to visit its interiors instead of just admiring its baroque-style facade, doing so is particularly tricky: opening days are scarce and usually happen only once a month, which means that even if you happen to be in the city when the casino opens to visitors, your best bet is to book way ahead to make sure you can reserve a spot. You can check the scheduled opening days on the official website.
Supposedly, the Passetto is not the only failsafe the popes had built for themselves to make sure they could escape the Vatican and find refuge in a safer location in case of attack. Since Villa Doria Pamphilj was officially outside the city walls for quite a long time, another underground tunnel was built to connect it to the Vatican: more than a kilometre long, it was another way for the popes to escape to the 'countryside' should things turn particularly dangerous inside the Palazzo Apostolico.
The vast green expanse of Villa Doria Pamphilj hides an impressive collection of fountains and statues, as well as a grand variety of plants and trees, as one might expect from such a large park. Along its avenues, most of which are named after women, both Italian and foreign, like Artemisia Gentileschi and Simone de Beauvoir, you can find the Anfiteatro and the Giardino del Teatro, which once hosted open-air plays and concerts. And then there is the myriad of fountains: the Fontana di Venere and the Fontana di Cupido are not far from the Casino del Bel Respiro, while the Fontana del Giglio, representing the lily that was the Pamphilj heraldic symbol, sits at one end of the little Lago Belvedere. On the easternmost corner of the park you can also find the colourful Arco dei Quattro Venti, which serves as a sort of entryway into the villa itself.
The small but quaint Chiesa di San Pancrazio dates back to the late 5th and early 6th centuries. It was built to honour the young martyr St Pancras, who died roughly a century earlier during the last but terrible persecution of the first Christians, ordered by Emperor Diocletian. While its interiors, which include a set of frescoes by Renaissance painter Antonio Tempesta, are definitely worth a visit, the basilica's main feature lies underneath: a series of galleries that form one of the many catacombs hidden below Rome. While there are certainly more famous catacombs, the narrow and dark spaces of this one really make you feel what life must have been like living here almost full time. Other martyrs are buried along with St Pancras, including St Sophia of Milan and her three daughters, named after the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity.
Official site →Not all Roman basilicas are made the same. While there are plenty of them in Rome, only four are considered 'major basilicas': St Peter's, of course, and then Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano and the Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura. These four all have what is called a Porta Santa, or Holy Door, which is always closed except during the Jubilee, when passing through it allows worshippers to have a closer connection to God and find forgiveness for their sins. Other churches around the world can have a Holy Door only if it has been granted to them specifically by the pope.