In the heart of Trastevere a garden that will let you feel like you're entering a fairytale!
The Orto Botanico of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" (12 hectares), also known as the Orto Botanico di Roma, is a botanical garden located at Largo Cristina di Svezia 24, in the heart of the Trastevere neighborhood.
Open from Tuesday through Saturday (but closed entirely in August) this garden truly feels like a fairytale. A small admission fee is charged in order to cover for the expenses.
It was established on this site in 1883, although it is the successor to the Papal Botanical Gardens going back to the Renaissance. It is sited on the slopes of the Janiculum overlooking the 17th-century Palazzo Corsini, which was from 1659-1689 the residence of Queen Christina of Sweden, now the headquarters of the Accademia dei Lincei.
Today the garden contains more than 3,000 species, with a Japanese garden, bamboo groves, and a Giardino dei Semplici (over 300 species of medicinal plants). Noteworthy specimens include Cedrus deodara, Dasylirion glaucophyllum and Dasylirion acrotrichum, Erythrina crista-galli, and Liquidambar orientalis. Greenhouses contain bonsai, carnivorous plants, and tropical plants including euphorbia and orchids.
Definitely worth a visit!