The Aventine Keyhole

Amazing area with a surprising view of the city. My wife and I were on a bike tour that went through this area and we can still remember the great sites

This is the elusive look through the keyhole to the secret garden that is often talked about in bars in Rome in tones which are something akin to finding the Holy Grail. Many think it’s a wind up but I’ve been there and seen it for myself so I can vouch for it’s existence.
It sounds crazy but in the piazza there’s a gate and if you look through the key hole you can see a beautiful garden with trees which frame St Peter’s Cathedral right in the centre. It’s quite magical.
I have uploaded photographs but it has to be seen to be believed.
Locals bring their visitors here to admire the impressive optical effect created by Piranesi. It doesn’t sound that wonderful; some trees and St. Peter’s, but few leave uncharmed. Located in the artistic and enigmatic Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, a gate bars the entrance to the Priory of the Knights of Malta. Queue up to have a look through the ornate keyhole, and you’ll see the Vatican’s vast white cathedral floating at the end of a symmetrical tunnel of trimmed trees.
The piazza is placed on the Aventine Hill (Aventino), which is a nice tranquil place to stroll on a sunny day. To reach the keyhole, you follow Via di Santa Sabina from the Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus) past a rose garden, two attractive churches and a couple of delightful panoramic parks. One, a walled garden filled with orange trees, hosts outdoors theatre in the summer months.