Parco del Gianicolo

The Gianicolo, or Janiculum hill, rises behind Trastevere and rewards a short climb with the finest panorama in Rome: the whole historic centre laid out below, from the synagogue dome and the Vittoriano to the Pantheon's grey saucer and the distant Alban Hills. It is not one of the classical seven hills, standing outside the ancient walls, which is exactly why the view over them is so complete.

Every day at exactly noon a cannon fires from beneath the terrace, a tradition begun in the 19th century so the city's church bells could synchronise their midday ringing. Crowds gather a few minutes before twelve to watch the drill, one of Rome's most charming rituals. The hilltop is crowned by the equestrian monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, commemorating the fierce 1849 battle in which his volunteers defended the short-lived Roman Republic against French troops on this very ground; busts of his garibaldini line the avenues.

On the way up or down, pause at the Fontana dell'Acqua Paola, the grand white marble fountain of 1612 that Romans call the Fontanone. Its terrace has a celebrated view of its own and starred in the opening scene of the Oscar-winning film La Grande Bellezza. Just below, the Tempietto del Bramante in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio is a tiny, perfect jewel of the High Renaissance.

There is no metro here: walk up the stepped lanes from Trastevere in about fifteen minutes, or take bus 115 or 870. Sunset is the magic hour, when the domes turn gold and the lights come on across the city, and the walk back down into Trastevere delivers you straight to dinner.

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