Giardini del Quirinale, Rome

The Giardini del Quirinale are the walled palace grounds of the Quirinale, covering about four hectares. Their design balances the disciplined geometry of an Italian garden with the freer, landscape-like character of an English garden. The estate began as a vineyard villa owned by the Carafa family, and Cardinal Ippolito d’Este reshaped its grounds after acquiring it in fifteen fifty.

Notice the clipped hedges, stonework, and long planted avenues: these gardens grew alongside the palace itself. The most remarkable feature is the Fontana dell’Organo, created under Clement the Eighth as a theatrical setting of foliage, sculpture, painted stucco, and a mock grotto. Its water-powered organ was built by Luca Blasi between fifteen ninety-six and sixteen oh nine, then rebuilt during the eighteenth century.

Water falling through the mechanism drives a toothed cylinder linked to the keyboard, allowing the instrument to play by itself. That centuries-old system still works. Elsewhere, a secluded Boschetto offers paths roofed by living pergolas, while the Coffee House was built for Benedict the Fourteenth as a private retreat for receiving guests.