Sunday Strolling in Villa Borghese Park

One very nice thing about living at the American Academy is that, even though Tom is out of town for a couple of weeks, I never have a chance to get lonely.  I still eat my meals with friends, get invited to movie nights, and even tried out a spinning class with a few other fellows last week. (Apparently, the instructor was on his "best behavior" since he had a new participant, but I hear he normally spends most of the class just sitting on the bike and/or chasing his kids around the room while eating candy....)  Of course, there's also all of Rome to explore, and so when we got a break from the rain over the weekend, I didn't let being "da sola" ("on my own") stop me from getting out there.  

Walking in Villa Borghese

I decided to make the trip over to Villa Borghese Park, which has been on my list of things to see in the city for a long time now.  After Doria Pamphili (the park in my neighborhood, which I wrote about here), Villa Borghese is the second largest public park in Rome.  At one time, the area had been a vineyard, but in the early 1600s, the Borghese family began converting the area into extensive gardens.  In the early 1900s, the city of Rome purchased the land and opened it to the public.  Nowadays, the park is also well-known for being home to the Galleria Borghese, a museum which showcases the Borghese art collection, including many paintings and sculptures.  

The park is on the other side of town from the Academy, but I enjoyed the hour or so long walk (mostly along the river) over there.  If I haven't said it before, I really love how walkable of a city Rome is.  I've visited so many different sites, and have probably only used public transportation a handful of times.  There was a major chill in the air while I was out (when I left the Academy it was 39 degrees outside), but there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and so the sun kept me nice and warm.  It reminded me a lot of those very early spring days in Minnesota where everyone rushes outside in their t-shirts despite there still being a few patches of snow on the ground.    

Piazza del Popolo

When I first entered the park, I was treated to an impressive view of Piazza del Popolo ("People's Square"), and a "one man band" added to the ambiance by playing jazzy songs like "when the saints come marching in" on trombone.   There were tons of people everywhere, and, as I began to wander around, it quickly became clear that this park had a very different vibe than what I was used to.

If Villa Doria Pahmphilli is the place to work out, then Villa Borghese is definitely the place to hang out.  Although I saw a few runners and bikers here and there (Rome's largest gym, the Roman Sports Center is actually tucked into one corner of the park), the vast majority of the visitors weren't wearing athletic clothes, and were clearly there just to meet up with friends, wander around, and/or let their kids burn off a bit of energy.  

St. Peter's Cathedral though the statues in Villa Borghese

One Man Band

Swiss Family Robinson-ish Club House Thing (??)

In many ways, the park is geared towards kids- or, at least the young at heart.  There are segway and bike rentals (including those large four wheeled, multi-passenger peddle-bikes), pony rides, a couple small amusement park type rides, and plenty of vendors selling balloons, pizza and gelato. There was also puppet house (although the puppets looked a bit creepy to me), a small zoo of sorts (which you can visit for a fee), and a few other "attractions" that I couldn't quite figure out (see, for example, the photo on the right). Given all of this, it's no surprise that there were kids everywhere.  Many of them were actually dressed in princess or superhero costumes, and I'm still not sure whether it was some sort of kid holiday/special event, or if wearing a costume is just the sort of things kids do for a trip to Villa Borghese.

Pony and Balloons

Segway in an Unusual Setting

Italian Kids Start in on Soccer at a Young Age! 

Sculpture Gardens

However, there is also plenty for adults to see and do in the park, too.  In addition to the Galleria, there are a couple other museums (one of modern art and another of Etruscan art), gardens, a lake, fountains, and, if you stray a bit off the paved streets, some incredibly beautiful natural scenery. Somehow I managed to miss the lake (which probably would have been my favorite part of the park), but I'm sure that we'll be planning another trip soon after Tom is back in town.  You'll have to excuse the cliche, but there really is something for everyone here- even an enormous dog park for Fido to enjoy!  (Incidentally, "Fido"means "trust" in Italian, although I have no idea if this has anything to do with the origin of the name.)

Galleria Borghese (minus the scaffolding that's there now!)

Even though I didn't visit any of the museums (I decided to wait on  Tom for that), I spent a good two hours just walking around the park and taking in all of the sites. Much to my surprise, the park was actually incredibly easy to navigate. There were signs and maps at almost every intersection (a real rarity here in Rome), and, if that weren't enough, all of the streets and landmarks have descriptive names.  During my time at the park, I walked down "Viale dei Pupazzi" ("Puppet Avenue") and "Viale delle Belle Arte" ("Avenue of  the Beautiful Art"), and strolled by (my personal favorite) " Valle dei Cuccioli" ("Valley of the Puppies").

In the Park

Online Photo of Lake That I Will Visit Next Time!!

Sunny Trails!

Overall, I had a great time at Villa Borghese, but after my visit, I have to say I'm grateful that it's Villa Doria Pamphili that's practically in my backyard.  Maybe it just holds a special place in my heart after spending so much time there, but it also has a more peaceful, less commercial quality that I really enjoy.  With that said, things do tend to grow on me over time, so don't be surprised if I change my tune after a couple more visits- especially if the lake has rowboat rentals!

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Mon. Jan 28:  The rain is back, but the forecast promises sun (and highs near 60!!) by the end of the week!