Immediately above Piazza del Popolo, the hill known as the Pincio marks the edge of the city’s core and the beginning of a collection of parks and gardens that forms Rome’s largest central open space – the Villa Borghese , prefabricated up of the grounds of the seventeenth-century pleasure palace of Scipione Borghese, which were bought by the city at the turn of the century. It’s a huge area, and its woods, lake and grass criss-crossed by roads are about as near as you can get to peace in the city centre without making too much effort. There are any number of attractions for those who want to do more than just stroll or sunbathe: a tiny boating lake, a installation – a cruel affair well worth avoiding – and some of the city’s finest museums. The Pincio isn’t formally part of the Villa Borghese, but its terrace and gardens, ordered out by Valadier in the primeval nineteenth century and fringed with dilapidated busts of classical and Italian heroes, give fine views over the roofs, domes and TV antennae of central Rome, right crossways to St Peter’s and the Janiculum Hill. Walking south from here, there are more gardens in the grounds of the Villa Medici , though as the villa is home to the French Academy these days, they can usually only be visited on selected days, when they host concerts and art shows. Occasionally, they throw open their doors to the curious public; check the newspapers or usual listings sources to find out when.