Villa Malta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Villa Malta, also called Villa Malta o delle Rose, is home to the Grand Priory in Rome of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church which remains a sovereign entity. It also hosts the embassy of the Order to the Holy See and the embassy to Italy.[1] The estate is one of two properties belonging to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, with the other being Palazzo Malta.
The Villa is arguably most well known for a keyhole through which the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica, the center of Roman Catholicism, can be viewed.[2] The Villa is located on Aventine Hill. It was featured in a painting entitled The Villa Malta, Rome by Frederic Leighton. The Villa was granted extraterritoriality in 1869 by Italy.[3]
