The Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Garden) is considered to be one of the most beautiful and romantic places in Rome. The official name of this gorgeous garden is Parco Savello, but Romans hardly ever call it by that name. Its biggest attraction, apart from the orange trees, is the magnificent view of the city it offers.
Orange Garden Rome (Parco Savello)
Address, opening hours and admission
Address: Piazza Pietro d’Illiria, snc – Rome. Other entrances are in the Via di Santa Sabina and the Clivio di Rocca Savella. Opening hours: From October to February from 07.00 till 18.00; March and September from 07.00 till 20.00; from April to August from 07.00 till 21.00 hours. Entrance fee: Free. Italian name: Giardino degli Aranci.
History and description
The Orange Garden covers almost 8,000 square meters on the Aventine Hill. The view ranges from the Tiber to the Temples of the Forum Boarium and from the Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church to the Janiculum Hill and the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The name Parco Savello is explained by the fact that it is located on a former fortress built by the Savelli family between 1285 and 1287 near the Church of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill. In 1932 Raffaele de Vico transformed this fortess into the present panoramic garden.
Before the Savelli built their fortress there stood another castle in this site. This had been built in the 10th century, by the Crescenzi.
The garden was named after orange trees that were planted there. The first orange tree had been planted here by San Domenico, founder of the order that bears his name. This tree can be seen in the cloister of the Santa Sabina Church. through a hole in the wall of the porch of this church.
The Orange Garden is characterized by a rigidly symmetrical structure, with a central avenue dividing it in two halves. The main entrance in Piazza San Pietro d’Illiria was enriched in 1937 by the portal from the Villa Balestra.
In 2019 the sculptor Andrea Grandini turned one of the big tree trunks in the park into a sculpture of a giant face.