Popular park reopens following restoration

Rome's newly-restored Villa Celimontana park has reopened after being closed to the public since April 2013.

The €970,000 restoration project focused mainly on a 20,000-sqm area between the front of the Italian Geographical Society building and the entrance of SS Giovanni e Paolo.

Central to the ecologically-friendly project was the redesign of the garden based on its original 1926 plans, including new plants and benches, and the restoration of walls and four fountains in the park which is situated between the Colosseum and the Baths of Caracalla.

Dead trees have been replaced with 35 new varieties, shrubs have been pruned and hedges clipped, flowerbeds replanted and lawns re-seeded. The park has also been equipped with an automatic irrigation system that works at night and the installation of tanks to collect rainwater.

The park originally been due to reopen last December, before being postponed to April but not actually opening until late June. For more details on Villa Celimontana see our Parks and Gardens Guide.