Ecotourism in Rome
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Garden Center
Archaeological parks

Rome's Green Areas

Green Associations

Birdcam.it
Bioparco di Roma
Rome zoo
L'Aventino
Rome is famous for its seven hills. Of these, the Aventino is most like an island into itself. Come on a Sunday morning, when it is at its sleepiest. Few cars will interrupt your strolling, and you may very well intercept a wedding party or two at one of the churches. With a leisurely morning, you can cover everything listed here, all within walking distance. Start in the small, intimate, and beatiful Parco Savelli. Below you, the Tevere and city rest quietly. When the kids get tired of hanging out in the park, head to the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta and Piranesi's church of Santa Maria del Priorato. It's the only architecture designed by Piranesi, the famed printmaker. But the piazza's real surprise for children (who need to be old enough to squint) is the keyhole in the doorway next to the church. As you squint, a beatiful view of Rome comes into focus. You can see a verdant adjoining garden, a tree-lined walway, and beyond that, all the way to the white dome of San Pietro, on the other side of the Tevere and a good mile or two north. In fact, you can see two countries at once: the Vatican and Italy. Kids find great joy in seeing something so immense through something so small. In springtime, the scent of orange trees makes the experience of looking through the world's most famous keyhole even more magical. Don't miss the church of Santa Sabina, just steps away in Piazza Pietro d'Illiria. The doors of this church, made of cypress wood, depict scenes from both the Old and New testaments thet your kids probably recognize. This is one of Rome's oldest churches, and its simplicity is exhilarating. Even kids are relieved at the lack of ornamentation -just 24 enormous Corinthian columns to consider. You'll find no shops on the Aventino, just lovely old homes, gardens, walkways, piazzas, churches, and a peaceful slice of Rome.
 
Bioparco - Villa Borghese

  The Zoological Gardens of Rome, projected by Karl Hagenbeck, better known as the conceiver of the zoo "without cages", was opened in January 1911 and has been considered for decades one of the best zoological gardens in Europe.

Since September 1997, it has been transformed into a Biopark, with the objective of limiting the species hosted and giving priority to scientific and teaching activities.Currently, the 17 hectare area houses about 218 species, among which 72 mammals, 92 birds and 54 reptilians, for a total number of about 1000 animals. The botanical framework is one of the richest of the capital in terms of variety. In addition to this, some among animal species are running the risk of becoming extinct in nature: among these, the black Lemur, the pygmy hippopotamus and the African hunting dog, which are protected at international level.

Information:
Open daily: from 9:30 to 18:00 (entry permitted until 17:00)
Amenities: Pic-nic areas - 3 bars and a restaurant - parking available near the entrance
Where is Bioparco located: P.le del Giardino Zoologico 1 (Villa Borghese)
How to get there: Tram n° 19 - 30 B; Bus n° 3 - 4 - 52 - 53 - 490 - 495 - 910 - 926

Click here to enter BIOPARCO Official website....

The Municipal Rose Garden of Rome
Although Rome's Municipal Rose Garden is not very large (about 10,000 square meters), many experts describe it as the most beautiful rose garden in the world because of its majestic surroundings; the Palatine Hill with impressive Roman ruins frames one side, while far off on the horizon the observatory on Monte Mario overlooks the historic Eternal City. The setting of Rome's Municipal  Rose Garden has an interesting history. Rome's Jewish Community Cemetery was at this site from 1645 until 1943, when at that time the city's new ordinances included the transfer of the entire cemetery to a special section in the Verano cemetery. This area was then designated to be to be a public green. In the same period a new street parallel to the Circus Maximus was made (Via del Circo Massimo). Via di Valle Murcia, the street which now divides the Municipal Rose Garden into two areas, was also built then. Many of the tall cypresses that can be seen along Via del Circo Massimo are the same ones that had been moved in 1934 from the site which the Rose Garden now occupies.
In the years that followed this area was almost forgotten; during the Second World War it was used for an "orto di guerra" (a wartime vegetable garden).Rome's original Rose Garden, which had been made in 1931 on Colle Oppio (a hill overlooking the Colosseum), had been severely damaged during the war. In 1950 the city asked the Jewish community for permission to build the new Municipal Rose Garden on the spot where their cemetery had once been. In this way the land of this sacred area, so dear to the Jewish people of Rome, would be used for a nobile purpose. The President of the Jewish Community consented to the city's proposal but asked that a stele be placed at the entrance to the garden as a reminder to all who enter that this had been sacred ground. Instead two stelae, with the Tables of Moses, were made for this purpose. One has been placed at the entrance of each of the two sectors of the Municipal Rose Garden. Another reminder of the ties between the Rose Garden and the Jewish Community of Rorne can be seen in the upper garden which houses the rose collection. Here the walks have been designed like the shape of a Menorah, the symbolic Jewish candlestick, and this can be very easily seen looking down into the garden from the top of the central stairs. The Municipal Rose Garden is divided into two sectors: the larger upper part holds an interesting collection of species roses, old roses and moderm hybrids, tracing the history and evolution of the rose from antiquity until our present day. The smaller lower sector is where the international Competition "Premio Roma" , for new varities of roses is held every year in May. New hybrid roses are submitted from all over the world for this competition. They are sent to the Rose Garden two years before the actual rose trials and during this period they are cared for by the Rose Garden technicians, and often checked by a locai jury, until the awaited day of the internationai Competition "Premio Roma", one of the most prestigeous in the world. 
Via dei Pubblici,3  - 00153 Roma
Click here to enter ROSETO Official website
  
Archaeological parks

Fiumicino - Oasi di Porto
Parco Regionale dell'Appia Antica (official website)

Rome's Green Areas

Natural Rome parks (official site)

Pincio

Entrances: from Piazza del Popolo towards the Rampe del Pincio; Via Trinità dei Monti; from Villa Borghese. Free admission. Public park designed by Valadier (1810-18). One of the finest and most famous panoramas of Rome. Facilities: playground, kiddie rides, restaurant, refreshment stand. 89,950 square meters.  

Colle Oppio

Entrances: beginning of Via Labicana and on Via delle Terme di Traiano (Esquilino). Metro: B (Colosseo); buses: 16, 714, 715, 613, 11, 27, 81, 85, 87, 186. Located on one of three heights of the Esquilino and one of the seven hills of Rome. Facilities: athletic fields, soccer field. 75,000 square meters.
Villa Aldobrandini
Entrance: Via Mazzarino (Esquilino). Buses: 70, 75, 170, 57, 64, 65. Metro B (Colosseo). Beautiful garden, formerly of vaster proportions, that is currently part of the Istituto Internazionale per l'Unificazione del Diritto Privato. Facilities: athletic and soccer fields. 8,000 square meters.
Monte Antenne
Entrance: Via A. Magnani, Via Ponte Salario (Parioli). Buses: 230. Vast and verdant park, ideal for long walks and bicycle rides. 250,000 square meters.
Villa Balestra
Entrance: Via Da Ponte (Parioli). Buses: 52. Gracious garden in the heart of Parioli, with a pleasant view of the city. Facilities: playground, athletic fields. 15,000 square meters.
Villa Glori
Entrance: Piazzale del Parco della Rimembranza. 7am until midnight. Buses: 230, 3, 53, 168, 910. The villa was planned in 1923-24 by Raffaele De Vico in commemoration of the Cairoli brothers. The park comprises a series of sloping hills and areas shaded by pines and chestnuts. Facilities: playground, pony rentals. 280,000 square meters.
Villa Borghese
Entrances from: Piazzale Flaminio, Porta Pinciana, Via Pinciana, Via Mercadente, Via Aldrovandi, Viale delle Belle Arti; pedestrian access also from the Pincio along Via dell'Obelisco, Viale Magnoli. Metro: B (Flaminio); Buses: 95, 490, 495, 52, 910, 926, 19, 19b, 30b. Underground parking at Viale del Muro Torto. Created at the beginning of the 17th century for Cardinal Caffarelli Borghese and radically transformed in the 18th century. In 1902, 7 was acquired by the King of Italy, who gave it to the city. Facilities: 3 refreshment stands, kiddie rides, horseback riding, children's cinema, exercise course, boat rentals, Zoological Garden, museums. 770,000 square meters.
 
Villa Mirafiori
Entrance: Via Carlo Fea 2 (Torlonia). Buses: 36, 36b, 317, 37, 60, 136, 137. Facilities: exercise course. 14,047 square meters.
Villa Torlonia
Entrance: Via Nomentana. 7am until midnight. Buses: 36, 36b, 317, 37, 60, 136, 137. Vast neo-classical complex, created by Valadier for Giovanni Torlonia and once the residence of Benito Mussolini. Underneath lay the 2nd- and 3rd-century Jewish catacombs. 140,000 square meters.
Parco Nemorense
Entrance: Piazza Crati (Salario). Buses: 56, 57, 319. Facilities: playground, rides, bocce and athletic fields. Garden completed in 1924 by Raffaele Vico, characteristic for its many small bridges. 30,100 square meters.
Villa Ada
Entrances: Via Salaria, Via Ponte Salario, Largo Bangladesh. 7am until sunset. Buses: 168, 53. Created at the end of the 18th century by the princes Pallavincini, it was later purchased by the Savoys. In 1878 it passed to Count Tellfner, who gave it to his wife Ada. Currently, only part of the villa is open to the public. Facilities: athletic fields, kiddie rides, playground, exercise course, canoe rentals, pony rentals. 340,000 square meters.
Villa Chigi
Entrances: via di Villa Chigi (Salario). Buses: 56, 57, 319. 50,000 square meters.
Parco di Porta Capena
Entrances: along via delle Terme di Caracalla at the base of the Celio (S. Giovanni). Buses: 118. Metro B (Circo Massimo).
Parco S. Sebastiano and Parco degli Scipioni
Entrance: Piazza Numa Pompilio to Porta S. Sebastiano, Porta Latina and Porta Metronia, Via delle Terme di Caracalla until Porta Ardeatina (San Giovanni). Buses: 118. Immense archeological area immersed in green, the beginning of the archeological park of Appia Antica. Facilities: playground and bocce courts. 74,5000 square meters.
Villa Celimontana
Entrances: on the slope of Monte Celio in Piazza della Navicella. From 7 am until sunset. Buses: 15, 118, 673. The park was set up in the 16th century by the Mattei family. Luxuriant vegetation and sculptures, statues and marble excavations are scattered throughout. Facilities: playground, athletic fields. 110,000 square meters.  
Piazza Conca d'Oro
Entrances: from Piazza Conca d'Oro (Prati Fiscali). Buses: 58, 137, 335. Facilities: athletic fields, bicycle lanes. 10,000 square meters.
Parco di Ponte Tazio
Entrances: from Via Nomentana, Via Nomentana Nuova (Montesacro). Buses: 211, 305, 307, 308, 311, 337, 537, 343. Facilities: bocce courts, senior citizen center. 13,870 square meters.
Parco di Corso Sempione
Entrances: from Via Nomentana, Via Nomentana Nuova (Montesacro). Buses: 211, 305, 307, 308, 311, 337, 537, 343. Facilities: kiddie rides. 13,650 square meters.  
Parco Savello - Giardino degli Aranci
Entrance: Via del Circo Massimo to Via di S. Sabina (Aventino). Buses: 94. Small and solitary park, noted for its orange trees. Open to the public since 1932. Beautiful view of Rome. 7,800 square meters.
Gianicolo
Entrances: right bank of the Tiber river, from Porta Cavalleggeri, Salita di S.Onofrio; from Porta S. Pancrazio, Via Garibaldi, Passeggiata del Gianicolo. Buses: 41. Free admission. The name Gianicolo comes from the cult of Giano, who was to have his center here. Luxuriant vegetation and filled with architectural treasures, the park also has a splendid view of Rome. Facilities: puppet show, kiddie rides, 2 refreshment stands. 25,500 square meters.
Orto Botanico
Entrances: from Largo Cristina di Svezia 24 (Trastevere). 8am-6pm, Sat until noon. Closed Sun and hol. £2,000. Buses: 23, 280. Part of the Università degli Studi, it is one of the most important botanical gardens in Italy, with more than 8,000 plants, some of which are unique in Italy, coming from all over the world; extraordinary collection of orchids. 120,000 square meters.
Villa Sciarra
Entrances: Via Calandrelli. From 7am until sunset. Buses: 44, 75, 710. Donated by its owner, H. Tower Wurts, to the head of the government in 1932, and then given to the city, the park is characteristic of public parks, with its varied vegetation, and 18th-century fountains. Facilities: playground, kiddie rides, bird house, museum, refreshment stand. 63,500 square meters.  
Parco Schuster
Entrance: Piazzale S. Paolo (Ostiense). Buses: 11, 13, 23, 27, 30b, 57, 94, 95, 673, 716. Metro B (San Paolo). Facilities: rides, bocce courts. 30,000 square meters.
 
Parco di Monte Mario
Entrance: Via della Camilluccia, Via De Amicis, Via del Parco Mellini (Trionfale). Buses: 907, 913, 991, 999, 90, 90b. Financed and created by the Region of Lazio and available to the public; immense pedestrian walkways and a reserve for plants and animals who reside in the park itself. To visit the reserve, a guided tour is required. For information, call 4870718-4870824. Facilities: botanical walkways, footpaths.
Villa Mazzanti
Entrance: Via Gomenizza (Trionfale). Buses: 90, 90b. Built on the eastern slope of Monte Mario in the mid-19th century. Facilities: playground. 25,000 square meters.  
Villa Carpegna
Entrances: from Piazza di Villa Carpegna, Circonvalazione Aurelia, Piazza S. Giovanni Battista de la Sale (Aurelio). Buses: 246, 889, 892, 791, 46b. Facilities: bocce courts, athletic fields. 69,000 square meters.
Villa Doria Pamphili
Entrances: Porta S. Pancrazio, Via S. Pancrazio, Via della Nocetta, Via Aurelia Antica. 7am until sunset. Buses: 982, 144, 31, 791. The villa was created between 1644 and 1652 for Prince Camillo Pamphili and is the largest park in Rome, with undulating terrain, fields, picturesque walkways, pine forests, fountains, lakes and gardens. Facilities: playground, bocce ball court, athletic fields, bird house. 1,800,000 square meters.
Parco Mattia Battistini
Entrance: Via Mattia Mattistini (Boccea). Buses: 46, 996, 997, 998. Facilities: playground, rides. 28,600 square meters.
Parco Urbano del Pineto
Entrances: Via delle Pineta Sacchetti, Borghetto Aurelio (Baldiuna), Via di Valle Aurelia (Boccea). Buses: 49, 446, 994, 51. Rome-Viterbo train (Balduina and Pineta Sacchetti). The park is comprised of a deep valley, from which it took its original name Valle dell'Inferno. Architectural and historical treasures abound.
 
Parco Via Fulda
Entrance: Via Fulda (Magliana). Buses: 228, 718, 719. Facilities: playground, athletic and soccer fields. 60,000 square meters. Spinaceto II Facilities: playground, bocce courts, athletic and soccer fields. 230,000 square meters.
Parco Tiburtino III
Entrance: Via del Badile (Tiburtino). Buses: 452, 450, 309. Facilities: playground, bocce courts, athletic fields, senior citizens center, soccer fields. 13,000 square meters.
Villa Gordiani
Entrance: Via Prenestina, from Viale Venezia Giulia, Via Rovigno d'Istria, Via Romiti, Via Olevano Romano and Viale le Partenope (Tiburtino). Buses: 112, 213, 312, 314, 501, 561, 553, 14, 19, 19b, 516, 517. Vast archeological park. Facilities: playground, bocce courts, athletic and soccer fields, senior citizens center. 178,000 square meters.
 
Parco Via Lemonia
Entrance: Via Lemonia (Tuscolano). Buses: 557. Metro A (Giulio Agricola). Facilities: bocce courts. 180,000 square meters.
Green Associations
GENTI & PAESI
v. Adda, 111 - 00198 Roma - tel. 06/85301755 fax 85301757
e-mail: gentiepaesi@romeguide.it
ASSOCIAZIONE GRUPPO ESCURSIONISTI VERDI
v. Nomentana, 939/A - 00137 Roma - tel. 06/822733
LA MONTAGNA INIZIATIVE
v. Marcantonio Colonna, 44 - 00187 Roma - tel. 06/3216656-321680
CLUB ALPINO ITALIANO sezione di Roma
p.zza S. Andrea della Valle, 3 - 00186 Roma - tel 06/6832684-68610114
FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA ESCURSIONISMO
(VAGGI MARIANI - Corso Cavour, 135 - 06034 Foligno (PG) - tel. 0742/357441)
FOUR SEASONS
v. Carlo Errera 18 - 00176 Roma - tel. 06/2412352
IL SENTIERO DEGLI ELFI
v. Corvisieri, 17 - 00162 Roma - tel. 8602813