Vatican Gardens

With the Vatican Museums and Saint Peter Basilica, it would be perfect to finish the visit of the Vatican Gardens;

This green and calm oasis covers almost half of Vatican City 44 hectares and have been a place of quiet and meditation for the popes since 1279 when Nicholas III (Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, 1277-1280) moved his residence back to the Vatican from the Lateran Palace.

Within the new walls, which he had built to protect his residence, he planted an orchard (pomerium), a lawn (pratellum) and a garden (viridarium). Created around the hill of Saint Egidio (where the "Palazzetto del Belvedere" is located today) and the courtyards of the Vatican Museums, this was to be the first garden in the Vatican. However, should you visit the Vatican Gardens today you would begin by viewing a totally different area from that first orchard, one located in a more recent addition to what is now Vatican City State.

I recommend the guided tour of 2 hours proposed on the Vatican website in order to fully enjoy this peaceful and historically rich part of the City.Less