Rome's Secret Places: Keyhole with a View

When you get to Rome, one of the more interesting treats is also one of the smallest... a keyhole.

High above Rome, on the top of Aventine Hill, a surprise view waits for your camera...  If you come early enough, or perhaps late enough, you'll pretty much be alone, but some tourists have caught on to this magical view and you might find a line leading out into the street in front of locked doors. Then as you get closer, you'll discover how thousands of people peering through this keyhole have worn away the paint right down to the bare wood, and the metal of the keyhole itself is worn and polished from thousands of peering eyes and pressing camera lenses. Still, this view is a treat, albeit a bit touristy, just as la Bocca della Verità is worth standing on line to take a picture of you with your hand shoved in it's mouth, or how you'll be compelled to "hold up" the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Just after the Orange Garden, the Keyhole of the Gate of the Priory of the Knights of Malta offers the most popular and picturesque view of Saint Peter's dome. Looking at it through the ornate keyhole gives a magical view--an alignment, really--of St. Peter's dome framed by hedges of the gardens of the Priory.

If you haven't already visited the Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Gardens), do so. There you'll find a wonderful park with more amazing views of Rome. Before you enter the gardens, look for a beautiful mask fountain to the left of the gate.

 Aventine Hill, Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, 3 Rome

--Jerry Finzi

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