Statue in garden of Villa Celimontana (previously known as Villa Mattei) on the Caelian Hill in Rome, best known for its gardens.

©Borisb17/Shutterstock

Villa Celimontana

San Giovanni & Testaccio

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With its grassy banks and colourful flower beds, this leafy park is a wonderful place to escape the crowds and enjoy a summer picnic. At its centre is a 16th-century villa housing the Italian Geographical Society, while to the south stands a 12m-plus Egyptian obelisk.

Legend surrounds this ancient monument with one story holding that the globe on the top contains the ashes of the emperor Augustus. Another tells how a workman lost his arm whilst erecting the obelisk and that the severed limb is buried beneath its base.

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