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Mellini Park on Monte Mario, Rome: the lookout and the hill that welcomed pilgrims
The entrance to Mellini Park is located on Via Trionfale, opposite the Church of Santa Maria del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary). The path climbs to the summit of Monte Mario, one of the city's highest points, overlooking the Tiber Valley. This was the site of the 14th-century Oratorio di Santa Croce (Oratory of the Holy Cross): the exact spot where pilgrims, after their long journey along the Via Francigena, caught their first glimpse of St Peter’s dome. They called it Mons Gaudii, the "Mount of Joy."
Historic villas in the greenery
The park is home to Villa Madama (used by the Italian government for official events), Villa Mazzanti (headquarters of RomaNatura), and the 15th-century Villa Mellini, built by Mario Mellini during the papacy of Sixtus IV. Illustrious travellers and intellectuals such as Goethe, Stendhal and Henry James walked through its wooded grounds. Wordsworth even composed a sonnet here. Next to the villa, between 1866 and 1869, the Torre del Primo Meridiano d'Italia (Tower of the First Meridian of Italy) was built, serving as a key point for the historical geodetic system used in territorial surveys.
"Lovers' Lane"
From the Vialetto degli Innamorati (Lovers' Lane), the view stretches as far as the Alban Hills, with the Flaminio district and Foro Italico in the foreground. The woodland hosts holm oaks, cork oaks, hornbeams, and white poplars, while the fauna includes kestrels, kites, and hazel dormice.
