Nature Rome

The Rose Garden

Eleven hundred varieties of roses on the site of the old Jewish cemetery, with paths laid out in the shape of a menorah.

1 min readVia di Valle Murcia 6

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De rozentuin, met de Palatijn aan de overkant van het dal

Halfway up the slope lies a garden with more than eleven hundred varieties of roses, looking out over the on the far side of the valley.

The place has a history that suits the roses. For centuries this was the Jewish cemetery of Rome, until it was cleared in the 1930s to make way for urban development. When the city went looking for a site for a rose garden after the war, the offered this ground on one condition: that the memory should stay visible. That is why the garden's paths are laid out in the shape of a , and a memorial stone stands at the entrance.

The garden is open from roughly April to mid June, while the roses are in bloom, and closed the rest of the year. Every spring an international competition is held here for new varieties, with the jury walking between the beds.

If you find the gate shut, the view from the street above is still one of the finest on this side of the city.

We keep following the road uphill until we reach a straight, tree-lined avenue at the top.

Map showing Via di Valle Murcia 6, 00153 Roma RM, Italië
Via di Valle Murcia 6, 00153 Roma RM, ItaliëRome
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Sources. Story: Roseto Comunale di Roma, Comune di Roma; Comunità Ebraica di Roma Photos: Photo: MM (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

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Walk The Aventine and the hill of potsherds with ROODS.

The Rose Garden is stop 5 on a 0-minute walk through Rome. Open ROODS in your browser, walk to a pin and the story plays.

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