Rome Off the Beaten Tracks

 Another enchanting off the beaten track site of  Rome is the Aventine hill . This is  the southernmost of Rome's seven hills. It has two distinct heights, one greater to the northwest (Aventinus Major) and one lesser to the southeast (Aventinus Minor), divided by a steep cleft that provides the base for an ancient roadway between the heights.The Aventin hill district is today a gorgeus  residential neighborhood full of splendid villas. Nevertheless the Aventine hill has a long history and it is full of archaeological remains. According to Roman tradition, the Aventine was not included within Rome's original foundation, and lay outside the city's ancient sacred boundary (pomerium). The Roman historian Livy  reports that Ancus Marcius , Rome's fourth king, defeated the Latins of  and resettled them on the Aventine.[ The Roman geographer Strabo  credits Ancus with the building of a city wall to incorporate the Aventine. Others credit the same wall to Rome's sixth king, Servio Tullio. The remains known as the Servian wall used stone quarried at Veii, which was not conquered by Rome until c.393 BC, so the Aventine might have been part-walled, or an extramural suburb. The Aventine appears to have functioned as some kind of staging post for the legitimate ingress of foreign peoples and foreign cults into Rome. During the late regal era, Servius Tullius built a temple of Diana  on the Aventine, as a Roman focus for the new-founded Latin League. At some time around 493 BC, soon after the expulsion of the last king of Rome and the establishment of the Roman republic, the Roman Senate provided a temple for the so-called Aventine triad of Ceres Libero and Libera, patron deities of the Roman plebs. To explore the Aventine I suggest you to  choose a nice sunny day (a rainy day will also do) to set aside an hour for a walk on the Aventino, veering off Via Circo Massimo to Piazzale Ugo La Malfa and then turn into Via di Valle Murcia. Have a peek at Rome’s municipal rose on each side of this street. The upper garden houses the collection, whereas the lower garden is where the international rose trials take place every year in May, and where you can see the roses of the future.Via di Valle Murcia joins Via di S. Sabina leading up the hill. To the right is the Savello park, known as the Giardino degli Aranci, or the orange garden taking its name from its mature orange trees. These are bitter oranges, Citrus aurantium bigardia (or Seville oranges) that are not good to eat but make the best marmalade.In the west of the garden is a walled terrace overlooking the Tiber far below with a splendid view of the eternal city spreading out in every direction. Birds love this garden and, as in Villa Borghese, the green parakets, escapees or abandoned many years ago, have multiplied into small flocks and have made the Aventine their home.The church of S. Sabina, south of the orange garden, merits a visit. It was founded by Peter of Illyria between 425 and 432 on the site of a Roman temple and was the expansion of a church-house owned by a Christian woman called Sabina. It was given to the Dominican order about 1219 and is still in its care. The church has undergone restoration and changes over the centuries but the inside is still essentially a fifth-century church with ninth-century renovations. The central wooden door with 18 sculptured panels of biblical scenes was made in the fifth century. There is also a lovely cloister and St Dominic’s cell in the adjoining monastery, which is possible to see on request. The church has three naves with Corinthian columns that may have been taken from a temple nearby. In the central nave is the only mosaic floor tomb in Rome, where the Dominican master general, Munoz da Zamora, was laid to rest in 1300.On the same side of Via S. Sabina, is another church, dedicated to Saint  Alessio, parts of which date back to the eighth century, and beyond that is Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, easy to spot as there is always a military vehicle and guards on patrol.The square was designed by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Italy’s famous architect and archaeologist (1720-1778). He made some 1,300 large etchings of Roman buildings and in his day was the leading authority on Roman archaeology. The square is surrounded by Piranesi’s small obelisks and ornamental stone plaques, making the space look almost like an outdoor room. He also designed the external decorations of the church of S. Maria del Priorata, the church of the Knights of Malta.The square was named after the order and their church, house and garden are all hidden behind a high wall. On the west of the square is a Knights of Malta building with tall central doors where visitors from all over the world come to peek through the famous keyhole.This reveals a secret view of a long walk of bay trees which leads the eye to the dome of St Peter’s basilica, perfectly framed in the far distance.  For more info about booking and reservations for a guided tour you can  contact me at  pincicarla4@gmail.com or call.3483940697