From the keyhole of the Villa del Priorato di Malta you can see the Dome of St. Peter
Have you ever seen Sorrentino’s Movie La Grande Bellezza? There is a scene in which the Dome of San Peter is seen…
…in the middle of the hedges: it is the Villa of the Priory of Malta, in Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, on the Aventine Hill. If you happen to pass nearby, from the keyhole of the large door you can admire the same image.
The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as you’ve never seen it before. The keyhole is the destination of a continuous pilgrimage but not of mass because it is located in an area not very touristy. It is located on the highest part of the Aventine hill, between the Orange Garden and the villa of the Priory of Malta, in the heart of the Circus Maximus area.
The emotion of the view for the unwitting tourist is unique. Spying and watching something incredible at the same time: the Dome of San Pietro in a new and singular perspective. And for tourists it seems that the sunset is just the best time to watch from that keyhole. All the result of chance? Most likely not, because it was the architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi in 1765, at the request of Cardinal Rezzonico, who had the task of renovating the entrance, also creating a spectacular Rococo-style square.
Place your eye on the keyhole and behold the magic, here is a splendid view of the Dome of St. Peter, which appears along the avenue of the Order’s Gardens, lined with trees. The basilica will seem much closer to you than it really is. A singular view in one of the most romantic places in Rome.
The villa of the Priory of Malta or Villa Magistrale is a complex of buildings with a garden. It is the historic seat of the Grand Priory of Rome of the Knights of Malta, today the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It is the institutional seat of the Order and its Grand Master. It hosts the embassy to the Italian State of the Order, and has enjoyed the right of extraterritoriality since 1869.
In 1765, the nephew of Pope Clement XIII, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Rezzonico, entrusted Giovanni Battista Piranesi with the renovation of the entrance to the priory. The result, the author’s only architectural work, was the extraordinary eighteenth-century square, an original example in Rome of a Rococo urban setting, decorated with war trophies that allude to the exploits of the Knights of Malta and with the Rezzonico coats of arms, on which the entrance portal to the villa.
Another curiosity? Looking from the keyhole of the entrance door, it is possible to see two states in perfect perspective: the Aventine, where the Villa is located in Rome, in the Italian state, then the Vatican City State with the dome of St. Peter’s.
