Redolent of the yesteryear days of Henry James and Edith Wharton, the Pincio gardens have always been a favorite spot for strolling. Grand Tour-ists, fashion-plates, even a pope or two would head here to see and be seen among the beau monde of Rome. Today, the Pincio terrace remains a favorite spot to cool off overheated locals. Their rather formal, early-19th-century style contrasts with the far more elaborate terraced gardens of Lucullus that once adorned the site. Lucullus, the Roman gourmand, held lush banquets here that were legendary. Pathways are lined with white marble busts of Italian heroes and artists. Along with the similar busts on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill), their noses have been victims of vandalism. Depending on the date of the last nose-knocking wave, you'll see the Pincio's busts forlornly noseless or in the throes of obvious plastic surgery.

The Pincian Hill is one of the seven hills of ancient Rome, and they are still separated from the southwest corner of Villa Borghese by a stretch of ancient walls. From the balustraded Pincio terrace you can look down at Piazza del Popolo and beyond, surveying much of Rome. Across the Tiber, Via Cola di Rienzo goes through the Prati district toward the heights of Monte Mario. That low, brownish building on top of the hill is the Rome Hilton. Off to the left are Castel Sant'Angelo and the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. In the foreground is the curve of the Tiber, embracing Old Rome, where the low-slung dome of the Pantheon emerges from a sea of russet-tile rooftops and graceful cupolas. Southeast of the Pincio terrace is the Casina Valadier, a magnificently decorated templelike Neoclassic building perennially due for renovation and reopening as a restaurant.