(map) Vatican City
Among other things, the pope is a celebrity like any other, with paparazzi and the press hounding his every move. Whenever his duties as religious leader and international icon become too stressful, he has the chance to take solace in the sanctuary offered by the private gardens inside the Vatican.
These gardens have served the procession of popes over the past eight centuries and cover a vast amount of land in the heart of Rome. What’s more, many of the ingredients used by the Vatican’s head-chef are grown on the estate. 
There is an international flavor to each of the gardens, which vary in form and style from French to English to Persian influences. Rumor has it that there is even a Chinese pagoda and a rescued fragment of the Berlin Wall!
But perhaps the most mesmerizing sights in the gardens are the rarely seen perspectives of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pictures taken on a private tour during a Fine Arts class at The American University of Rome
-- Contributed by Ian Zurzolo, writer, editor, American University of Rome Senior, Italian Notebook Editorial Intern.
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:07 pm
One of the special things we did while living in Italy was arrange to take a tour of these beautiful gardens. It’s one of those things many tourists I believe don’t even know about or don’t have time to include. Well worth the visit although I would have preferred to wander on my own, it was wonderful and informative Thanks for highlighting this lovely place.
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Lovely pics of a not very often seen corner.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:53 pm
A tour of the Vatican Gardens is indeed special. It is something I try to fit in on any trip I take to Rome. I have taken many pictures but have never again seen a particular fountain that I have a picture of from perhaps the first time I did the tour in the 80’s. It is a battle ship complete with furled sails and with water “shooting” out of every cannon–a very interesting sight.