Rome Rose Garden (Roseto Comunale): the Aventine's spring rose garden, dates and hours

Updated on October 5, 2026

Rome's municipal rose garden (Roseto Comunale), on the slope of the Aventine facing the Circus Maximus, brings together more than 1,100 varieties of roses from around the world on a garden hillside shaded by pines and cypresses. It opens only in spring: in 2026, from 11 April to 14 June, every day from 8:30am to 7:30pm. Entry is free. The site is also steeped in history, as it was Rome's Jewish cemetery from 1645 to 1934. Allow an hour, and aim for mid-May, when the roses are at their peak.

Highlights

The rose garden

Gently sloping paths, lined with beds arranged by variety, run down between umbrella pines and cypresses. There are old roses, modern hybrids and wild botanical species, each with its label. The garden protects its flowers with beneficial insects rather than pesticides.

A site with a painful past

From 1645 to 1934 the plot was Rome's Jewish cemetery; when the area was redeveloped in the 1930s, about 8,000 graves were respectfully moved. When the rose garden opened in 1950, its paths were laid out in the shape of a menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, a tribute visible only from the air.

The Premio Roma competition

In 1932 the American Mary Gayley Senni, inspired by the Bagatelle rose garden in Paris, persuaded the city to create this garden; in 1933 she founded the Premio Roma competition, the second-oldest rose competition in the world. An international jury meets in mid-May, and the competition section then opens to the public: you can see roses that will only reach the market in 2027.

Hours and access

From 11 April to 14 June 2026, every day from 8:30am to 7:30pm, free entry, Via di Valle Murcia 6, opposite the Circus Maximus. Dates change every year and are announced by the City of Rome in early spring. Contact: 06 5746810.

Practical info

Tips

Come between mid-May and late May for the fullest bloom; in June the first roses fade. The garden is on the way to the Orange Garden: climb via Via di Valle Murcia and then Clivo di Rocca Savella to make it a single half-day walk. Dates and hours taken from city sources for 2026; check those for the year of your visit before climbing up, as the garden is closed the rest of the year.

How to get there

Via di Valle Murcia 6, 00153 Rome, on the slope of the Aventine facing the Circus Maximus. Metro line B, Circo Massimo station, a few minutes' walk. The Orange Garden is about ten minutes' walk uphill.