Rome is preparing to celebrate another, unexpected chapter of natural beauty: the reopening of the Rome Capital Rose Garden. After its spring exuberance, the famous historic garden, set in a breathtaking landscape close to the Circus Maximus, opens its fall session, offering visitors the chance to admire those rose varieties with longer blooming cycles.
The Opening and the Protagonist Gems.
Access to the Rose Garden will be granted for a limited time, starting Saturday, Oct. 18, and ending Sunday, Nov. 2. Walking among the flower-lined avenues will be provided every day, including holidays, with continuous hours from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the afternoon. Admission remains, as always, completely free.
The spotlight this season is on the hardiest and most prolific species, such as charming Chinese roses, delicate teas and modern hybridizations. These cultivars are distinguished by their ability to bloom several times a year, giving intense strokes of color that complement the warm tones of fall foliage.
A Botanical Sanctuary of International Prestige.
The Rose Garden is not just a garden, but a veritable living archive that preserves some 1,100 species of roses, collected from every continent-from remote Asia to southern Africa via classical Europe. The site holds rare specimens, including botanical fossils whose genesis dates back some forty million years.
The history of the Rose Garden is deeply intertwined with that of Rome. The area was anciently sacred to Flora, goddess of flowering, and hosted spring festivities in her honor. In the seventeenth century, the area was designated as a Jewish Community Garden and Cemetery.
When the present municipal rose garden was inaugurated in 1950, it was chosen to pay homage to the memory of the place. For this reason, the design of the pathways separating the flower beds in the collection section traces the outline of the Menorah, the sacred seven-branched candelabra, a symbol of Judaism.
Where to Admire: Via di Valle Murcia, 6, 00153 Rome.
Current Access: The entrance is temporarily from Clivo dei Publicii 3.