Gardens at the Aurelian Wall

All photos by Lisa Finerty. Permission required for use.

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"Gardens at the Aurelian Walls" is a fully guided, all-inclusive half-day tour, visiting historic gardens in Rome. Each day has a maximum of eight participants. The tour begins or ends with lunch. All gardens are handicapped accessible. Each afternoon tour includes our choice of seasonally appropriate gardens, including some of the following:

We end our day in the center for a farewell cocktail, overlooking the Republican and Imperial Forums. The tour goes from 1 PM to approximately 7 PM. There is a taxi stand in front of the

monument, which is at the crossroads of Rome’s historic center.

For dates and availability, contact us here.

Overlooking Circus Maximus and across from the Imperial palace on the Palatine Hill. a garden built on the former site of the Jewish cemetery. Rose beds are arrayed as a giant menorah (candlestick) in commemoration of the oldest minority of Rome. It is now the site of the Premio di Roma rose award -- the first competition in a worldwide calendar of rose competitions. Here is the the worlds' oldest rose bush, but also the newest, and with most of the important roses in between. We hear some of the histories of the place and plants.

The garden where Julius Caesar lived with Cleopatra during her stay in Rome. There are fragments of 2100-year-old structures visible, but it is the sculpture garden-- built by an American ambassadorial family at the turn of the 20th century, with 18th century statues transported from a grand northern garden --that catch the eye. The German institute invites us to go up in their tower, so we get the only 360-degree view of Rome which includes the historic center and, on a clear day, the Mediterranean Sea 24 kilometers away.

An oasis in the center. One of the best collection of cactus (a New World native!) anywhere in the world. In addition, you‘ll discover other types of plants, some centuries-old, which grow among the millennium-old ruins, in a very romantic way. It is remarkable that this oasis exists in the middle of any town, let alone Rome.

A medieval medicine garden, beautifully curated by monks, in a traditional way. This herb planting is religiously symbolic as well as botanically interesting, and is planted in the center of Rome's only other amphitheater beside the Colosseum.

A centuries-old staging garden near the Terme di Caracalla, built by Napoleon for re-landscaping of Rome’s Appia Antica. This tranquil campus now houses Rome's large orchid and azalea collections, as well as Rome’s first orangerie --- done in the French style, of course!

A 19th century villa, built over the original Roman road of Ardeatina. Now, this garden and structures host a foundation to benefit victims of its former owner. It is also has a state-of-the-art recording studio with two amphitheaters dedicated to jazz in the city.