Each year, the June 2 2012, At the Italian Republic Holiday, the Quirinale gardens are open to the public throughout the afternoon.
The opening of the Gardens of the Quirinal Palace takes place only on the occasion of the Republic Day, so it is an event not to be missed! It is not necessary to book and the visit is free! The Gardens of the Quirinale, famous for their privileged position that constitute them almost like an "island" raised above Rome, were modified over the centuries according to the tastes and needs of the papal court.
The current layout integrates the seventeenth-century "formal" garden facing the original nucleus of the building with the "romantic" garden of the second half of the eighteenth century, preserving from that period the splendid Coffee House built by Ferdinando Fuga as a reception room for Benedict XIV Lambertini, decorated by the splendid paintings of Girolamo Pompeo Batoni and Giovanni Paolo Pannini.
A peculiarity of the Quirinale gardens is the famous water organ, still functioning through a small waterfall with a jump of 18 meters coming from the hill, enough to feed the organ for no more than half an hour. Overall, the Quirinale gardens measure 4 hectares. Under the gardens, through a trap door it is possible to reach the archaeological excavations that have found what remains of the original temple to the god Quirinus and some insulae of the imperial age.
