Pincio

The Pincio is a nineteenth-century promenade above Piazza del Popolo, with marble busts, a water clock and a broad view across Rome.

Why it matters

Giuseppe Valadier shaped the public park in stages between 1810 and 1908, across the Napoleonic and papal periods. From the terrace, Piazza del Popolo lies below, with St Peter's dome, Monte Mario, the Quirinale and Garibaldi's monument on the Janiculum on the horizon. The hill's 229 commemorative busts, installed from 1849 onward, form an open-air memorial to figures from Italy's history, arts and sciences; ancient sculptures had been placed here in 1846.

What to notice

The line of busts begins at Piazzale Napoleone I and includes Raphael, the Cairoli brothers, Enrico Toti and Valadier. Ancient statues of Aesculapius, Cybele, Polymnia and Abundance, moved here in 1846, add a classical counterpoint. On Viale dell'Orologio, a water-driven clock associated with Dominican friar Giovanni Battista Embriaco stands in a pond behind an iron gate dated 1873. The white Casina Valadier, rebuilt from an older casino in 1813, overlooks the southern lawn. The terrace frames St Peter's dome, Monte Mario and the Quirinale across the city.

Context and history

The Pincian was not one of ancient Rome's seven hills. Gardens covered it from the imperial horti to Renaissance vineyards. The modern landscape began in 1810; after 1814, work followed a project by French architect Berthault and continued under papal administration with Valadier directing the design. His 1834 park plan shaped the promenade. The busts programme began in 1849, turning the terrace into a civic memorial during the period of Italian unification. A flyover across the Muro Torto linked the hill to Villa Borghese in 1908; the state had acquired that estate in 1903 to make it a public park.