The terrace of the Quirinale

At the top of the steps that rise from Via della Dataria, the charming terrace of the Quirinale, one of the privileged points of view over the city, extends a few steps from the suggestive alleys that wind around the Trevi Fountain and Via del Corso, the heart of the Capitoline shopping.

The terrace stands on top of Monte Quirinale, so called because the temple of Quirino or the city of the Curi once stood. According to legend, the Sabines of Tazio moved to come and settle on this hill.

Although the belvedere is not exceptionally high, it nevertheless offers you a scenario as far as the eye can see that ranges over iconic places such as the St. Peter's dome, the Antonine Column, the top of Palazzo di Montecitorio, and a sea of ​​roofs near and far silhouetted against the sky.

If you wish to enjoy a higher view, you can enter the magnificent building overlooking the square during the opening to the public. The Scuderie del Quirinale, the ancient papal stables, today host prestigious exhibitions such as those dedicated to Caravaggio, Antonello da Messina, Lorenzo Lotto, Filippino Lippi, and Sandro Botticelli, Tintoretto, Titian, and Raphael.

At the end of the visit, on the third floor, the breathtaking window designed by Gae Aulenti offers you a 180-degree panorama from the "highest" of Rome's Seven Hills.

From here, the view, extraordinary during the day but even more so at dusk and in the evening, embraces the massive form of the Altare della Patria, the dome of the church of Jesus behind which you can glimpse the Fontanone del Gianicolo and, then, the singular lantern of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza by Borromini and the broad facade of St. Peter's Basilica, up to the greenery of Villa Medici and the Pincio, another unmissable panoramic point of the city, located inside the Villa Borghese Park.

On the terrace of the Quirinale also stands the majestic Palazzo del Quirinale, the ancient papal residence today the Presidency of the Republic, the sumptuous Palazzo della Consulta, the work of Ferdinando Fuga, today the seat of the Constitutional Court and the Fountain of Monte Cavallo, on which rise the colossal statues of the Dioscuri, the mythical twins Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus and Leda, holding back their horses.