Campo de' Fiori: "Marco Polo" -
Panoramic penthouse with terrace

You are thinking about coming to Rome and have an apartment near all the sites? Why not an attic where from you can SEE THEM ALL ! Welcome to a corner of Paradise! Up there, amids the skies and clouds of Rome, you truly can embrace the Eternal City.This attic is so beautiful and with so many aspects that we prepared two pages for it:

(a) the roof garden with view of all Rome (this page)
(b) the attic

THE ROOF GARDEN There are very few attics with terrace having such views in Rome, and since they are owned by very wealthy persons, or belong to historical / institutional "palazzi", they are not rented, let alone for a short period. Amidst the skies and clouds, and under the starry nights you will experience unique sensations. You will also experience a cultural survey, as if you were a geographer, singling out a belfry or dome, going after in the quarter where you thought it should be located, trying to find it in the map.

(a) Terrace seen from its right side

This is why the apartment is named after Marco Polo, the great Italian explorer. The *private* roof garden is appr. 110 mts. large (appr. 1,100 sq. ft.). It is made of two terraces. The largest one has a "C" shape, and it allows to have views on all sides. The second one, smaller, is higher, and it can be reached with a little iron-wrought flight of stairs. Each terrace allows stunning 360 degrees panoramic views of all Rome. Let us present them to you.

(b) Terrace, view from the door giving access to it.

(c) Terrace, view from its left side

Photo (b) shows the view while standing on the door giving access to the terrrace from the sitting room. Photo (a) shows the terrace seen from its right corner, and (c) from its opposite left corner. This is just to let you have an overview. Let's try now to see the views you can have.

(Photo (d). Piazza and Palazzo della Cancelleria, Sant'Agnese

Photo (e). Spanish Steps domes, San Ivo alla Sapienza and the Pantheon Photos (d, e, f) show better the front view of the terrace, i.e. what you can see from the position of photo (b). On the left side (d) you can see the majestic and most elegant Palazzo della Cancelleria (Chancellery Palace), built around 1490-1500 AD, which was the seat of the administration of Rome at the times of the Kingdom of the Popes.

You can see also in the background of photo (d) the dome of the Church of Sant'Agnese by F. Borromini, situated in Piazza Navona. In photo (e), showing the views you can have from the centre of the terrace, you can see the domes of the French Frairs Church on top of the Spanish Steps , the spiral dome of San Ivo alla Sapienza still by F. Borromini, and the flying saucer shape of the dome of the Pantheon, the largest in Rome (43.3 Mt., larger than St. Peter's!).

From the right side of the terrace (f) you can see the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle , with the second highest dome in Rome after St. Peter's, and the Altare della Patria (Fatherland Altar, or Vittoriale) in Piazza Venezia. Ended in 1911, the monumental altar (nicknamed "type writer" or "wedding cake") celebrates the reunion and independence of Italy in 1860. If you look carefully the photos you will see the equestrian statue of King Victor Emanuel II (the protagonist of the independence war) placed in front of the monument.

Photo (f). Sant'Andrea della Valle, the Altare della Patria (Fatherland Altar)

The next photos (g, h) show the right side of the roof garden.
Here you find a large wooden table to dine out, with many chairs. As you can see, the view is breathtaking, including the Churches of Sant'Andrea della Valle and of San Carlo ai Catinari, with its characteristic emi-spheric dome.

Photo (g). Terrace, right side: domes of Sant'Andrea della Valle and of San Carlo ai Catinari.

Photo (h). Terrace, right side: opposite view, Palazzo Farnese.

As mentioned, the terrace has a "C" shape, and so as you turn right you can see the Palazzo Farnese (in Piazza Farnese), one of the largest palazzi in town. Built by Cardinal A. Farnese, it is now the seat of the French Embassy, and also of one of the most important Italian libraries. It was built with contributions of Antonio da Sangallo and Michaelangelo ( click here to have more info and photo on the Palazzo ).

The following photos (i, l, m, n,) show the views from the left side of the roof garden. Photo (i) shows the Bothanical Garden and the Janiculum, i.e. the hill with a beautiful park overlooking Rome.

Photo (i). Terrace, lef side: the Janiculum and Garibaldi statue.

Photo (l). Terrace, left side. St. Peter and San Giovanni Battista ai Fiorentini.

The statue of Garibaldi dominating Rome, and the (blank) burst of the old cannon an noon commemorate the independence war of 1848. In this war the Roman patriots uprised against the Pope Pius VII, and proclaimed the Roman Republic. The pope called the French Army (a super-power at that time) to crush them. It was not a walk as they thought, as it took 4 months of bloody battles in the Janiculum to capture the town. Photo (l) shows the Vatican and - among others - the dome of San Giovanni Battista ai Fiorentini, whose parish priest, a vegetarian, allows animals in the church as he (rightfully) considers them endowed with a soul.

Photo (m). Terrace, left side. Breakfast / tea table. From which cafe could you have such views? Photo (m) gives you a closer look to the breakfast / tea table. It is hard to think of a more panoramic place in Rome to have your tea or coffee. Or, while reading your Rome Guide, you can try to single out all the domes and monuments with the aid of a map.

Photo (n): Terrace, left side: Vatican, close-up Photo (n) is a closer view of the Vatican , and particularly of the dome, built following the original plan of Michaelangelo.

Photo (o) shows the left portion of the terrace, which includes chairs to sit and to watch the views, a drying rack to hang clothes, a ladder, placed under a wooden porch (portico). The roof garden is encircled by a protection barrier (you can see it indistinctly in photos a,b,o, after the wall). Yet tenants are asked to be very careful. In general, this attic is for careful and considerate tenants. Thank you. *We will soon publish the photos of the second smaller terrace, higher than the first one, where from you have even better, more panoramic views. * Stay tuned!

Terrace, left part.

SEE THE PAGE PRESENTING THE INTERIOR OF THE ATTIC >>>

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