Colle Aventino
Colle Aventino
4.5
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The area
Neighbourhood: Aventine
Contrary to the chaos of the city, the Aventine is Rome’s oasis. A neighbourhood made up of a patchwork of ancient churches, hidden gardens, private homes and embassies, peace and quiet is top priority and the vibe definitely friends and family. Take a walk around the Aventine and you’ll find a treasure hunt of surprises like the clever little keyhole at the Knights of Malta entrance (the only place you’ll find a line) along with Parco Savello (Giardino degli Aranci) next to the ancient Santa Sabina church. Keep your eyes on the 1960s architecture, several modern buildings are built atop Rome’s original 4th century BC wall.
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4.5
958 reviews
Excellent
645
Very good
260
Average
45
Poor
5
Terrible
3
WA-Barb
Seattle, WA92 contributions
June 2011 • Friends
This is a very unique view. You go up the hill to a very old doorway into gardens. But no one actually goes thru the door. They (if anyone is there) are bending over looking thru the keyhole... when you do you see an amazing view thru the garden and see St.Peter perfectly alligned in the hole. Many folks try to take pictures.. but it is very hard since you have to focus on both the key hole - close and the far away view of St Peters. Sucessful shots are usually done with a tripod...
Written 9 July 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sandra044
Sydney,Australia2 contributions
Walk up the Aventine Hill, past beautiful Rose Gardens and you will come to a small park filled with orange trees . From this park there is a wonderful view of Rome. The nearby Church of Santa Savina dates back to 450AD.
Continue further along the road, and on the right hand side you will see an old green (paint is peeling off) gate. If you look through the keyhole, you will see a beautiful treelined path and at the end of the path is a framed view of St, Peters Basillica.
(Closest Metro is Circo Massimo and it is only a short walk uphill from there).
Continue further along the road, and on the right hand side you will see an old green (paint is peeling off) gate. If you look through the keyhole, you will see a beautiful treelined path and at the end of the path is a framed view of St, Peters Basillica.
(Closest Metro is Circo Massimo and it is only a short walk uphill from there).
Written 29 January 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Littlenel7
Tavistock, UK161 contributions
May 2011
The Aventine Keyhole is another must do. It is quite a way but the view through the keyhole was completely worth it. The directions to get here aren’t very clear, and I think we found it more by luck than judgment. The address you need is the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta. When you get there you will see a long white wall with a green door, look through the keyhole in the green door and be amazed and what you can see through it. On the way back to town we walked through Aventine Park and there were some lovely views over the city.
Written 22 May 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melaney68
Chesapeake Beach, MD11,327 contributions
Aug 2023 • Business
We thought we could walk to this neighborhood, but it was initially hard to find the keyhole and the streets were elevated so it was a strenuous hike from the river walk. Bring water and know that seeing through the keyhole was fun, but getting a good picture was a challenge. There was a great view of the city from the Orange Gardens. That’s where you will get your best photo.
Written 15 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
agapacino
Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland12 contributions
It is good idea to climb the Aventine hill in the evening when you are in Rome. One can admire the beautiful panorama of Rome just from the square next to the Sabina’s church. There is also a lovely orange garden where you can have a rest and smell the oraneges growing around on the trees. The terrace offers a lovely view especialy during the sunset. Many tourists see the sunset and go back but it is worthy to go further up until Malta's Square, where there is a little known secret to exploring Rome – a keyhole in the door of the monastery.
This place is rarely visited by the mass tourists. We could see mainly Romans showing the place their women, to impress them. It was like this: Ladies came to the door, looked through the hole, and said "WOW! Because if you look, your eye sees something amazing. If you want to know what it is, check it yourself.
This place is rarely visited by the mass tourists. We could see mainly Romans showing the place their women, to impress them. It was like this: Ladies came to the door, looked through the hole, and said "WOW! Because if you look, your eye sees something amazing. If you want to know what it is, check it yourself.
Written 29 December 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Faldi
Parma, Italy110 contributions
If you want to escape the crowd, head to the colle Aventino with
- its historical churches (S. Sabina, S. Anselmo)
- the beautiful Giardino degli Aranci (i.e. Orange garden) .
The view from the Aranci is one of the best in Rome, you can see all the Ccity's main places.
You can also peep through a hole in the Cavalieri di Malta's main door and see... the Vatican dome !
It is all just a 10 minutes walk from S.Maria in Cosmedin and Bocca della verità.
- its historical churches (S. Sabina, S. Anselmo)
- the beautiful Giardino degli Aranci (i.e. Orange garden) .
The view from the Aranci is one of the best in Rome, you can see all the Ccity's main places.
You can also peep through a hole in the Cavalieri di Malta's main door and see... the Vatican dome !
It is all just a 10 minutes walk from S.Maria in Cosmedin and Bocca della verità.
Written 28 November 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VTJedi
Virginia2,996 contributions
May 2011 • Couples
Google Knights of Malta Keyhole to see what everyone is talking about!
This is the coolest thing to see - but make sure it is a clear nice day.
Very easy to get to. Just walk up the hill from circus maximus past the rose garden.
You won't spend a long time there and some private tour cars and shuttles will show up letting people off to look through the hole. So you can easily after go to the mouth of truth or even on to the baths of caracalla and appian way like we did. Bus is nearby.
It's something special which I gather more and more people are starting to learn about... but totally worth it! We went on a sunday and saw maybe a dozen other people there at most.
This is the coolest thing to see - but make sure it is a clear nice day.
Very easy to get to. Just walk up the hill from circus maximus past the rose garden.
You won't spend a long time there and some private tour cars and shuttles will show up letting people off to look through the hole. So you can easily after go to the mouth of truth or even on to the baths of caracalla and appian way like we did. Bus is nearby.
It's something special which I gather more and more people are starting to learn about... but totally worth it! We went on a sunday and saw maybe a dozen other people there at most.
Written 14 June 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arnold S
Bonn, Germany13 contributions
Mar 2013 • Couples
This is just a important historical hill, but there are great veiws all the way to St. Peter's from the Orange Park and San Saba is an unforgettable and beautiful church. Also, go see the secret key hole!! One of my favorite off beat things to visit.
Written 16 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pchips
Vancouver, Canada149 contributions
May 2018 • Family
All the photos here should be deleted. We were told by friends to go, don't look up what it is, just go and be amazed. We were totally amazed. The best part is not knowing what you are going to see. Just make sure it is a clear day. It is worth the visit by foot, or by cab. Just do it and don't ask questions. The Keyhole is special.
Written 31 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KTGP
Adelaide, Australia5,873 contributions
May 2016 • Couples
Colle Aventino/Aventine Hill is a lovely quiet spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of busy Rome. While a lot of people come here for that elusive perfect photo through the Aventine Keyhole, (have to come back, wasn’t happy with mine), there is so much more, up here on offer.
The following are some of the things to be found - Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio e Alessio, built 4th century, however heavy restoration took place, 16th, 18th and 19th centuries ; Next to the church is Giardino Storico di Sant’Alessio, a garden with views but not the best views ; Basilica di Santa Sabina built 5th century, numerous restorations and in the 20th century restored to its original form : Next to the church is Giardino Degli Aranci, a lovely garden with excellent views across Rome : Fontana del Mascherone di Santa Sabina, 16th century marble disc, on wall next to Santa Sabina : Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino built 19th century : Located in Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, is the door of the Priory of the Knights of Malta, with ‘that’ famous keyhole.
The Aventine Keyhole is a popular spot, we arrived around 10.30am on Saturday and only had to wait around 10 minutes in line. Most people are pretty courteous and conscious of others waiting in the queue and manage to take photos within one minute, then move on. One person while we were waiting, took around 3 minutes and was checking each photo as they were taken, he ended up being yelled at by some of the people in line. So just a warning have your camera ready and don’t take too long.
The following are some of the things to be found - Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio e Alessio, built 4th century, however heavy restoration took place, 16th, 18th and 19th centuries ; Next to the church is Giardino Storico di Sant’Alessio, a garden with views but not the best views ; Basilica di Santa Sabina built 5th century, numerous restorations and in the 20th century restored to its original form : Next to the church is Giardino Degli Aranci, a lovely garden with excellent views across Rome : Fontana del Mascherone di Santa Sabina, 16th century marble disc, on wall next to Santa Sabina : Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino built 19th century : Located in Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, is the door of the Priory of the Knights of Malta, with ‘that’ famous keyhole.
The Aventine Keyhole is a popular spot, we arrived around 10.30am on Saturday and only had to wait around 10 minutes in line. Most people are pretty courteous and conscious of others waiting in the queue and manage to take photos within one minute, then move on. One person while we were waiting, took around 3 minutes and was checking each photo as they were taken, he ended up being yelled at by some of the people in line. So just a warning have your camera ready and don’t take too long.
Written 23 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zhanna D
Okhtyrka, Ukraine
Добрый вечер.Будем жить в районе Термини.откуда лучше всего добраться на Авентин.от какой то из достопримечательностей или от отеля?
Written 6 May 2018
Could you please tell me how to reach this attraction when coming from the Colisseum?
Written 30 January 2017
Hi Terry, sorry for the late reply. When we went we followed a map, it's easiest to go south past the colosseum. Just be warned you do go through quite a 'rough' neighbourhood where there are homeless people and people begging for money.
Written 5 April 2017
HI I am going to Rome this summer I was wondering can one go through these doors and through that walk or the doors are always closed?
Thank You in advance!
Written 23 March 2015
Mosse and Kim are correct--you can't go through the door. However, if you turn right from the keyhole and walk down the street a bit (perhaps 1/4 mile), you will come to a small public park which has a fine overlook of Rome.
Written 24 March 2015
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