Hidden away from the crowds that flow through the historic centre of Rome, the Orto Botanico di Roma, the Botanical Garden of Rome, occupies a wonderfully secluded corner of Trastevere beneath the slopes of the Janiculum Hill. It is one of those places that seems almost improbable in a city as intensely visited as Rome….
I have travelled to Caserta several times from Rome, taking the high-speed train south for a full day exploring one of Italy’s most extraordinary royal landscapes. There is something wonderfully convenient for the journey: Caserta railway station stands almost directly opposite the palace, and within minutes of arriving, the immense facade of the Reggia di…
Around 30 kilometres east of Rome, the historic hill town of Tivoli rises above the countryside of Lazio, surrounded by wooded slopes, olive groves and the deep valley carved by the River Aniene. Known to the Romans as Tibur, the town had been celebrated for its landscape and waters long before the Renaissance. Roman emperors,…
Rome is a city of stone, monuments, and crowded streets. Its ancient ruins, churches, fountains, and palaces seem to occupy every available space, each carrying another layer of the city’s immense history. Yet beyond the historic centre lies a different Rome. At Villa Borghese, traffic and tightly packed buildings give way to broad lawns, shaded…
Nestled near the mountain village of Olinda, just over an hour’s drive east of central Melbourne, the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden is one of Victoria’s finest displays of cool-climate plants. Set high in the Dandenong Ranges, the garden combines cultivated beauty with the atmosphere of the surrounding forest. Towering Mountain Ash trees rise above sweeping…