Villa Ada is a park in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, with a surface of it is the second largest in the city after

Villa Doria Pamphili The Villa Doria Pamphili is a seventeenth-century villa with what is today the largest landscaped public park in Rome, Italy. It is located in the quarter of Monteverde, on the '' Gianicolo'' (or the Roman Janiculum), just outside the Porta San ...

. It is located in the northeastern part of the city.

History

The wooded expanse was owned by the Italian royal

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

in the latter half of the nineteenth century; it contained the royal residence (1872–1878). In 1878 the area came under the control of Count Tellfner of Switzerland, who named it in honor of his wife Ada. The royal family regained control of the land in 1904 and they retained control of the area until 1946. During their ownership it came to be known as Villa Savoia.

Present status

As of 2009 the area contains both public and private areas. The public area is controlled by the Council of Rome; the private area is controlled by the Egyptian Embassy, although the Town Council has made a formal claim to take control of the whole area. The private portion is under constant patrol by police or army personnel.

Activities

The public portion of the park is much larger than the private area. It contains an artificial lake and many trees, including

stone pine The Italian stone pine, botanical name ''Pinus pinea'', also known as the Mediterranean stone pine is a tree from the pine family (''Pinaceae''). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The ...

s, holm oaks,

laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Flora Cretica (Kleinsteuber Books, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9818110-5-6) the stem can be 1 ...

and a very rare

metasequoia ''Metasequoia'', or dawn redwood, is a genus of fast-growing coniferous trees. It contains one extant (living) species, ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', which is one of three extant species of conifers known as redwoods in the world. ''Metaseq ...

, imported from

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

in 1940. Entrance to the park is free. One may rent canoes, bicycles, or riding horses. There is a large swimming pool. Since 1994, during the summer the park hosts the

world-music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical category pose obstacles to a u ...

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

and the "''Roma incontra il mondo''" (Rome meets the World)

, against racism, war and the death penalty. Villa Borghese Park - Bunker entrance

The "Bunker Villa Ada Savoia," a bunker built in the early 1940s by the

to protect the King and Queen (King

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...

and Queen Elena) from Allied bombs, is now open for tours. The non-profit association, Roma Sotteranea, restored the bunker, which had fallen to ruin and had been vandalized, and runs the tours for a small cost. Also,

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

was taken captive by King Victor Emmanuel III during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from that house.

References

External links

* * Gardens in Rome Rome Q. II Parioli Royal residences in Italy Villas in Rome Victor Emmanuel III {{Rome-stub

History

Present status

Activities

See also

References

External links