The Casina Valadier is built on the highest point of the Pincio Hill in Rome, on what used to be known as the Collis Hortulorum, where the wealthiest families of the city owned their gardens.
Casina Valadier Rome
Address, opening hours and admission
Address: Piazza Bucarest – Rome (tel. +39 06 69922090). Opening hours restaurant: 12:30 till 15:00 and 19:30 till 23.00; opening hours cafe: 11.30 till 17.00.
History and description
As the name says, the building was constructed by the architect Giuseppe Valadier, between the years 1816 and 1837. Valadier was a logical choice of builder, since he was also responsible for the new look of the Piazza del Popolo.
Before Valadier built his neo-classical palazzo , there used to be another building called the Casino della Rota in the same site, which in its turn had been constructed on top of the ruins of an ancient cistern.
After World War I the Casina Valadier became an important place for Rome’s cultural and political elite and its guest book includes names as diverse as Gandhi, Pirandello and Strauss.
The Casina, which had been turned into a restaurant in 1920, was closed in 1990 for restorations that would end up taking 14 years.