Look through the Knights of Malta's keyhole at the dome of St Peter's, then see the rest of the Aventine a few minutes away: the Orange Garden view, the 5th-century basilica of Santa Sabina and the city Rose Garden. Plus what to expect from the queue.
On a quiet square at the top of the Aventine, one of Rome's seven hills, people queue to look through a keyhole. The gate belongs to the Villa del Priorato di Malta, a property of the Sovereign Order of Malta, and through the keyhole a garden avenue of clipped hedges lines up exactly on the dome of St Peter's Basilica across the river. The square in front, Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, was designed in 1765 by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the engraver of Rome's ruins; it's his only work as an architect.
The keyhole is free, on the street and never closes, so the only thing you can't plan is the queue. While you're up there, three more stops are a few minutes' walk away: the Orange Garden and its view, the early Christian basilica of Santa Sabina, and the city Rose Garden, which opens only during the spring and autumn blooms.
It's a 10 to 15-minute walk up from Circo Massimo Metro (subway) station, and it fits the end of an ancient Rome day: our 3-day itinerary puts it at sunset after the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. For the rest of the city, see things to do in Rome.
The short version. Walk up from Circo Massimo station, join the line at the gate on Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, and look: St Peter's dome sits at the end of a tunnel of hedges. It's free and never closes, and there's often a queue. Allow 15 minutes plus the wait, then walk two minutes to the Orange Garden.
What you're looking at. The gate is the main entrance to the Villa del Priorato di Malta, which belongs to the Sovereign Order of Malta, the Catholic order of knights founded in Jerusalem in the Middle Ages. The villa houses the Order's embassy to Italy and has had extraterritorial status since 1869. In 1765 Cardinal Rezzonico, nephew of Pope Clement XIII, commissioned Piranesi to remake the entrance: the result is the square in front of the gate, and the church of Santa Maria del Priorato inside the garden, which Piranesi decorated with stucco. Through the keyhole, the villa's garden avenue frames the dome of St Peter's.
The queue. There's one keyhole and one person at a time, so a line forms; no one publishes wait times, and it can build at any hour. Be quick at the front and let the next person in. Photos: a phone struggles with the framing (dark gate, bright dome far away), so look first; then hold the lens right against the keyhole, tap to focus on the dome and zoom in a little.
Can you go in? Not on a walk-in visit. Visiting times for the villa and Piranesi's church aren't published on the Order's site; Turismo Roma, the city's tourist board, gives visitorscentre@orderofmalta.int as the contact, so write to the Order if you want to ask about a visit.
A queue can form at any hour. Metro (subway): Circo Massimo (Line B), then 10-15 minutes uphill.
The Orange Garden (Giardino degli Aranci, officially Parco Savello) is a small walled park two minutes from the keyhole along Via di Santa Sabina, planted with orange trees and ending in a terrace high above the Tiber. From the balustrade, the domes and bell towers of the centre spread out below, with St Peter's on the skyline, and the city's heritage office calls it one of the most beautiful views of Rome. It's free and popular at sunset.
The walls are what's left of a fortress the Savelli family built in the late 13th century on top of an older castle; the park itself was laid out by the architect Raffaele De Vico and finished in 1932. The orange trees remember St Dominic, who founded a convent here in the 13th century: an orange tree linked to him is kept in the cloister of Santa Sabina next door, and you can see it through a hole in the wall of the church porch.
Hours: every day, 7am to 6pm from October to February, 7am to 8pm in March and September, and 7am to 9pm from April to August. Cost: free. Time: 20 to 30 minutes. Sunset: about 5pm in early November, 4.40pm in December and 8.45pm in late June, so in winter it closes an hour after sunset and in summer it's open late enough for it. The catch: on a fine evening the balustrade is packed, so arrive half an hour early.
Entrances on Piazza Pietro d'Illiria (main), Via di Santa Sabina and the Clivo di Rocca Savella steps from the river. Walk to the balustrade at the far end for the view.
Santa Sabina, beside the Orange Garden's main gate, is one of the oldest churches in Rome, built between 422 and 440. Pope Honorius III gave it to St Dominic in the early 13th century as the Rome house of his new order, the Dominicans, and it's still the seat of the order's headquarters. Inside, 24 fluted Corinthian columns divide a plain early Christian basilica; early 20th-century restorers removed its later Baroque additions.
Look for: the carved cypress-wood doors of the main entrance, with scenes from the Old and New Testaments; the 5th-century mosaic band with an inscription in gold on blue, the only decoration that survives from that time; and the black stone next to the door, which legend says the devil threw at St Dominic while he prayed.
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 8am to 7pm, Sunday and Monday 12pm to 7pm; on holy days of obligation it keeps Sunday hours. There are no visits during services (Mass at 7.15am Monday to Saturday and at 8am and 11am on Sunday; Vespers at 7.15pm). Cost: free, no booking. The catch: the excavations under the church are closed to visitors.
It's next to the Orange Garden's main entrance. A working Dominican church: cover shoulders and knees.
The Rose Garden (Roseto Comunale) sits on the slope of the Aventine facing the Circus Maximus and the Palatine, on the way up from the Metro. It holds about 1,100 kinds of roses from around the world, plus a section for the Premio Roma, a competition for new roses held since 1933. The land was the Jewish community's garden and cemetery from 1645 until the cemetery moved to the Verano in 1934; when the city made it a rose garden in 1950, the paths in the main section were laid out in the shape of a menorah, and a stone at the entrance recalls the site's history.
When: it opens only for the blooms, on dates Roma Capitale announces each season. The autumn 2026 opening runs from 25 October to 8 November 2026, every day 8.30am to 5.30pm. In 2026 the spring opening ran from 11 April to 14 June (8.30am to 7.30pm). Spring 2027 dates have not been announced yet. Cost: free; free guided visits can be booked during openings (rosetoromacapitale@comune.roma.it, or 06 5746810, Monday to Friday 9am to 12pm). Entrance: Via di Valle Murcia 6. The catch: outside those weeks the gates are shut, and you'll only see it over the fence.
Free guided visits during openings: email rosetoromacapitale@comune.roma.it or call 06 5746810 (Monday to Friday 9am-12pm). Five minutes' walk from Circo Massimo Metro (Line B).
The keyhole itself: any time; it never closes, and a queue can form at any hour.
For the whole hill: come in the late afternoon. Look through the keyhole, then walk to the Orange Garden for sunset (about 5pm in early November, 4.40pm in December, 8.45pm in late June). In winter the garden shuts at 6pm, so go up by 4pm; Santa Sabina is open until 7pm.
Rose season: the Rose Garden adds a stop only during its spring and autumn openings; in 2026, 11 April to 14 June and 25 October to 8 November.
Metro (subway): Line B to Circo Massimo. Walk past the Circus Maximus to the Rose Garden, then up Via di Valle Murcia and Via di Santa Sabina to the Orange Garden and the keyhole, about 10 to 15 minutes, uphill. See getting around Rome for tickets.
From the river: the Clivo di Rocca Savella, a stepped lane off the Lungotevere Aventino, climbs straight into the Orange Garden, about five minutes' walk from the Bocca della Verità. From Testaccio: it's about ten minutes' walk downhill to Testaccio, so the Aventine pairs with dinner there.
From the Colosseum: about 25 minutes on foot past the Circus Maximus, or one stop on Line B from Colosseo to Circo Massimo. That's the order our 3-day itinerary uses on Day 1.
Gelato: Torcè on Viale Aventino, a few minutes from the Circus Maximus; see the best gelato in Rome. Markets: the weekend Campagna Amica farmers' market by the Circus Maximus is in our guide to the best markets in Rome.
Staying here: the Aventine is a quiet, green, residential hotel area; see where to stay in Rome. To budget the trip, see what a trip to Rome costs.
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