Villa Borghese

It was Cardinal Scipione Borghese's pleasure estate in the early 17th century, and the city bought it in 1903 to open as a public park. It covers some 80 hectares of avenues, pine woods and gardens, with fountains, museums, a small zoo and an open-air theatre modelled on Shakespeare's Globe.

In the middle is the lake, with a little temple of Aesculapius on an island and rowing boats for hire. At the west end, the Pincio terrace overlooks Piazza del Popolo, and to the east is the Galleria Borghese.