So Long Garden Dream

Today I bid farewell to the beautiful Pincio Gardens, a place I have come to know very well through the past seven weeks. It is a place where both natives and tourists come to relax and roam the peaceful streets. From the charming water clock to the dignified obelisk, people are taken with this unique place. I enjoyed exploring this lovely place and to say goodbye I walked the tree lined and marble statue lined streets one last time, taking in the beautiful weather and people watching as I walked. I have become very familiar with the gardens and I have loved the peaceful getaway from the city. I will miss this romantic place very much as there is no place like this in western Pennsylvania.

Surrey Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble

In Pincio Gardens, there are places where you can rent bikes or a surrey- a four person bike, covered with an umbrella. Today we decided to give it a try. It was 5 Euros a person for an hour. We had so much fun riding around the Villa Borghese and Pincio Gardens. The bikes even had a small motor on them that made pedaling much easier, especially up hills. Unfortunately ours turned off periodically and at one point we had to get out and push ours up a hill. But either way, it was fun and it is definitely the best way to see the park.

Villa Borghese

You can enter into Pincio Gardens through the Villa Borghese. Both are large parks with tree lined streets filled with people, adjacent to each other. Villa Borghese tends to be a little bit busier because it is larger, better known, and has other attractions like the Galleria. People wonder through both all day long, especially on their bikes. You know you have entered into Pincio Gardens when the streets become lined with the familiar marble busts.

We're Just Ordinary People

People are everywhere in Pincio Gardens. You find the ever frequent tourist, taking in the sites, especially the fabulous views of the city. You see the always pushy salesmen, searching for the vulnerable tourist. You even see a few groups of small children, running the streets and playing in the fountains. But mostly, you find the romantic couple, sitting on the benches, strolling down the streets hand in hand, unabashed in the public displays of affection.

Life of a Salesman

Like most of Rome, the streets of Pincio Gardens are lined with random vendors, pushing their goods onto the many strolling tourists. Since Pincio Gardens is known as a tourist destination, the vendors flock here. There are the vendors selling their fake Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton handbags. They set their bags on a blanket on the ground and then roam the streets, walking up to you asking you to buy from them. In Florence this is against the law, but in Rome, it is seen everywhere. Men holding large bouquets of roses walk up to you and give them to you saying they are a gift, then once you are holding it they ask for money, when you refuse, they take the roses back. The vendors are rather pushy. People selling cheap, braided bracelets go so far as to put the bracelet on your wrist and ask for money. You see this all over the city, but especially in the gardens.

Villa Medici

Sitting on Pincio Hill is the Villa Medici, which is now home to the French Academy. It became property of the ruling house of Florence once the Medici family died and Napoleon Bonaparte made it part of the French Academy. It is now host to guided tours, cultural events, exhibits and concerts. Its beautiful gardens are much like Pincio Gardens with tree lined streets and many statues. It was rebuilt like this in 1540. Galileo took shelter here when he was under house arrest during the the Inquisition. It was founded by Ferdinando I de'Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany and has housed the French Academy since 1803. The beautiful sprawling gardens cover most of the area with the Palace overlooking St. Peters.

Looking From Above

Pincio Garden sits on a hill overlooking Piazza del Popolo. This piazza was turned into the oval shape that it is today in the 19th century by Giuseppe Valadier which is the same person that designed the Pincio Gardens. The piazza is very large and open with an Egyptian obelisk in the center and fountains at either end of the piazza. It is spacious and welcoming but has been the host to rather brutal events. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was the site of brutal executions and inhumane riderless horse races. The horses would race from the piazza down Via del Corso wrapped in nail-studded ropes after being fed stimulants and having fire crackers set off at their feet. Executions of condemned men took place here as part of the celebration of the Carnival. An execution has not taken place in this piazza since 1826. The piazza is rather beautiful but does not have a pleasant history.

*Added information from DK Eyewitness Guide to Rome

Next in Line

Lining the streets of Pincio Gardens are various busts of remarkable people from Rome’s history including artists, heroes, and a few philosophers. Before coming to Rome I had no idea what a “bust” was. It is a portrait or sculpture of a person showing only the head and shoulders. There are a total of 228 white marble busts in all. Unfortunately, some are falling apart or display some graffiti but most of that can be ignored.

*Added information taken from DK Eyewitness Guide to Rome and http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/pinciogardens.htm

Someone to Save You

A striking entity of Pincio Gardens is the obelisk. Emperor Hadrian decided to put the Egyptian-style obelisk in the park during the second century AD. He wanted this obelisk in memory of his favorite slave- Antinous. According to some reports, Antinous died saving the emperor’s life. The obelisk was put in the gardens in 1822 by Pope Pius VII.

*Added information taken from DK Eyewitness Guide to Rome and http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/pinciogardens.htm

Hickory Dickory Dock

One of my favorite things about Pincio Garden is the water clock. It looks like something straight out of a fairytale. The clock sits on a huge rock in a little pond all to itself, surrounded by trees and plants. Vines grow up the huge Grandfather clock and the water vibrates with the sounds of the clock gonging on the hour. It sits on a little street, Via dell-Orologio, road of the clock. It was built by a Dominican monk, Giovanni Embriaco, during the 19th century and was even displayed at the Paris Exhibition of 1889.

5 O'Clock at the Oasis

Today we made the trek to Pincio Gardens. It is a little bit difficult to get to because it sits on top of Piazza del Popolo and you have to climb a lot of stairs to get to the top. But as soon as you make it, it is completely worth it. The view is breathtaking. Not only do you get the great aerial view of Piazza del Popolo, you can see most of the city. As you walk deeper into the gardens, you get further and further away from the chaos of the city. It is a nice, quiet and peaceful getaway. The gardens are relatively quiet, the trees offer much welcome shaded areas, and the benches offer a nice place to sit.

Garden of Delights

For my class, I have to choose a place in Rome that I am going to continually explore and write about in my blog. I have chosen Pincio Gardens. It is located on the eastern side of Piazza del Popolo and can be reached by a set of stairs that leads uphill so that it overlooks the Piazza. The gardens were designed by Giuseppe Valadier in the early 19th century. This, now famous garden, has been visited by various iconic people, such as: Gandhi, Mussolini, Richard Strauss, and King Farouk of Egypt. It has become known as one of the many romantic spots in Rome. It is also home to the exquisite restaurant, Casina Valadier.

*Picture is taken from http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/pinciogardens.htm

*Added information was from Publishing, DK. Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides). New York: DK Travel, 2003.