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Aventino

One of the seven hills of Rome, the Aventino retains a certain detached and peaceful quality despite its central location. Within a radius of 500 yards of the hill you can find the Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, the Roman Forum, Monte Testaccio, the Tiber River and Isola Tiberina. This, along with the beautiful villas and temples that occupy its streets and squares, makes the Aventino one of the most sought after residential neighborhoods in Rome.

Among some of the most interesting places to visit is the Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Garden), a public park that used to be an orchard attached to the nearby monastery. From the belvedere there is a spectacular view of the Tiber River, St. Peter's Basilica and the Roman panorama.

The presence of numerous early Christian churches is also notable -- Santa Sabina, Santa Prisca, Sant'Anselmo and Sant'Alessio.The Church of Santa Prisca is traditionally believed to be where St. Peter stayed as a guest during his evangelization of Rome. Moreover, it was on the Aventine Hill that the first Christian meetings took place in honour of St. Paul.

For a peep of St. Peter's basilica, visitors line up in front of the keyhole of the Villa del Priorato di Malta, which is located on Piazza Cavalieri di Malta. An impressive optical effect created by Piranesi, through the keyhole you can see a view of St. Peter's basilica at the end of a symmetrical line of trees leading up to it.

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