The Garden of the Oranges

Map

The Orange Garden

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On the Aventine Hill, Parco Savelli,  better known as the Giardino degli Aranci (Garden of the Oranges), offers some of the finest views of Rome, particularly at sunset. 

The small park, with its many orange trees, extends over the site of an ancient fortress, which was built near the church of Santa Sabina by the Savelli family between 1285 and 1287. The garden is bordered by a wall that once surrounded the Savelli castle.

The castle was later given to the Dominican Order of Santa Sabina, which transformed it into a monastery. According to legend, Saint Dominic (1170-1221) gave the monastery its first orange tree. 

The garden, as it is today, was designed in 1932 by the architect Raffaele De Vico (1881-1969).