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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

One of Rome's Most Attractive Parks

9/8/2019

 
Map
Terrace of the Pincio, Rome
View of St Peter's Basilica from the terrace of the Pincio

The Pincio, with its panoramic terrace overlooking Piazza del Popolo, was laid out as a park by the Roman architect Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839) between 1809-14.  

Dotted about the park, with its broad, tree-lined avenues, are numerous busts of famous Italians. I should say famous Italian men, for only 3 of the 228 busts depict famous Italian women, namely St Catherine of Siena, Vittoria Colonna (16th century Roman poet and noblewoman) and Grazia Deledda (winner of the Noble prize for literature in 1926). 

The Viale dell' Obelisco is named after the obelisk, which was placed here in 1822, at the behest of Pope Pius VII (r. 1800-23). The obelisk may have been erected by the emperor Hadrian (r. 117-38) on the tomb of his young lover Antinous, who drowned in the Nile in 130, aged only nineteen. 

The gardens are home to a hydrochronometer, one of only two water-clocks in Rome. It was created in 1873, based on a design by Fra 
Giovan Battista Embriaco, O.P. (1829-1903). 

The Pincio soon became the most fashionable place for the Roman passeggiata (a leisurely walk or stroll), with people coming to admire the views from the terrace and to hear the band play. Many arrived in carriages. The American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-64) writes: 'Here, in the sunny afternoon roll and rumble all kinds of carriages, from the cardinal's old-fashioned and gorgeous purple carriage to the gay barouche of modern date.'

The terrace on the Pincio, Rome
The terrace on the Pincio
Obelisk, the Pincio, Rome
Obelisk
Busts of famous Italians, the Pincio, Rome
Busts of famous Italians
Monument to the architect Giuseppe Valadier, Pincian hill, Rome
Monument to the architect Giuseppe Valadier by Luigi Majoli
Bust of Giuseppe Valadier by Luigi Majoli, Pincio, Rome
Bust of Giuseppe Valadier by Luigi Majoli
Water-clock by Gian Battista Embriaco, O.P., the Pincio, Rome
Water-clock

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
    small-group walking tours
    of Rome.

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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Small-Group Tours
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque