Villa Ada

Listen first. Under the umbrella pines the city noise drops to a low hum, and a different set of sounds takes over. Dry needles crack underfoot. A jogger's breath passes and fades. Somewhere ahead, ducks argue on the water. The air here smells of resin and damp earth, even in summer. You are still inside Rome, only a short walk from the traffic of Via Salaria, but the light has changed. It falls in broken patches through the canopy, green and gold, and the ground is soft.

This is Villa Ada, one of the largest public parks in Rome. It is second in size only to Villa Doria Pamphili, on the other side of the city. It sits in the north, between the elegant Parioli district and the Trieste quarter. Romans come here for ordinary reasons: to run, to walk dogs, to push prams, to sit by the lake. Few visitors from abroad find it. That is part of its charm. This is a park the city keeps mostly for itself.

The word villa can confuse first-time visitors. In Rome, a villa is not just a house. It is a whole estate — a residence surrounded by gardens, woods, lawns, and outbuildings. Noble families built these estates on the edge of the old city. Many of them later became public parks. Villa Borghese is the most famous example. Villa Ada belongs to the same family of places, but its story took a royal turn.

In the nineteenth century, after Rome became the capital of a newly united Italy, the House of Savoy took an interest in this land. The Savoys were the Italian royal family. King Victor Emmanuel the Second acquired the estate in the early 1870s and used it as a private retreat. A few years later it passed into private hands. The new owner was Count Giuseppe Telfener, a wealthy businessman. He named the property after his wife, Ada. Her name has stayed on the map ever since.

The royal family came back. In the early twentieth century, King Victor Emmanuel the Third bought the estate again. He made it his family's home, and for decades it was known as Villa Savoia. The king preferred this quieter residence to the grand Quirinal Palace in the centre of the city. Here he could live more privately, surrounded by trees rather than courtiers. The woods you walk through now were once the gardens of a working royal home.

Now comes a moment that most visitors never connect with this green, peaceful place. On the 25th of July, 1943, Benito Mussolini came here to meet the king. Italy was losing the Second World War, and the Fascist leadership had just turned against him. When Mussolini left the meeting, he was arrested on the grounds of the villa. He was driven away in an ambulance. The dictator who had ruled Italy for over two decades lost power within these gates.

After the war, Italy voted to end the monarchy, and the Savoy family went into exile. The estate's future changed again. Large parts of the land opened to the public over the following decades. The main royal residence did not. Today that building serves as the Embassy of Egypt, and it stays closed to visitors behind its own fences. So as you walk, remember that part of this park is still private, and still diplomatic ground.

The landscape itself is varied. In some areas you find formal touches: avenues, a small lake, garden buildings in the romantic style of the nineteenth century. In other areas, the park feels almost wild. Tall stone pines rise high above the paths, with their flat, umbrella-shaped crowns. Dense holm oaks, a kind of evergreen oak, make shady tunnels. There are open meadows where families spread blankets. The paths are often dirt rather than paving, so the ground changes with the weather.

Here is a second surprise. Under one quiet corner of the park lies a story much older than any king. On a rise known as Monte Antenne stood Antemnae, a small settlement from Rome's earliest days. Ancient writers described it as one of the neighbours of the young city. Legend ties it to the tale of the Sabine women, the famous story of Rome's first generation of men seizing wives from nearby peoples. Treat that tale as myth rather than record. Still, the hill was settled long ago.

The same hill also carries a much later layer. In the late nineteenth century, the new Italian state ringed Rome with a series of military forts. One of them, Forte Antenne, was built here. Parts of the old fortification still stand among the trees. The royal years left their own defensive mark too. During the Second World War, an air-raid bunker was built for the royal family. So under this soft park lie stone walls and concrete, built for very different fears.

The lake is the heart of the park for most Romans. Ducks and other water birds gather near its edges, and turtles sometimes sun themselves on the rocks. Children feed the birds, though it is kinder to bring seeds than bread. In summer, the lakeside becomes a stage. A long-running music festival takes place here on warm evenings, with concerts, food stands, and crowds sitting on the grass. On those nights the park feels like a small town gathering after dark.

Just outside the park, along Via Salaria, there is another reason to linger in this area. The Catacombs of Priscilla lie close by. They are underground Christian burial passages, with early wall paintings. They require a separate guided visit. Many people combine the two: the dark tunnels of early Christian Rome, then the open air and green shade of Villa Ada. The contrast is strong, and it shows how many layers of the city sit side by side here.

Before you go, stop for a moment wherever you are standing. Look up at the pine crowns and watch the light move between them. Notice the sounds again: footsteps on needles, voices from a distant path, perhaps water somewhere near. Kings lived here, a dictator lost his power here, and an ancient village stood on the hill. Today, it is mostly a place for walking and resting. As you head back toward the city streets, let the noise return slowly.