Stories & Legends

The Aventine Keyhole in Rome

Hugh O'Brien

A pair of large green and unassuming doors open to the Grand Priory of the Knights of Malta atop Aventine Hill in Rome. A stunning surprise awaits anyone who takes the time to visit there and look through the famous “Aventine keyhole.”

Visitors line up outside the famous green doors
with the marvelous keyhole

The visitor peeps through the amazingly small keyhole and, as his eyes adjust and focus, he discovers a spectacular view of of two nation-states and one country, with the dome of St. Peter’s perfectly situated in the center of the scene. In a single glance through this tiny “Hole of Rome,” he sees the gardens of Malta Villa (a part of the State of Malta that enjoys extraterritorial status in Italy), Vatican City in the middle, and far in the distance – which magically seems much closer – the perfectly framed Cuppolone in Rome.

The keyhole was the genius of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, one of the most famous architects of the 18^th century. In 1765 he created the large portal as part of the redesigned Piazza Cavalieri di Malta that has remained to this day.

No one knows the whole story of how or why he included this keyhole view, but it seems certain it was not just coincidental. Two rows of trees used to stand on either side of the garden walk in the Villa del Priorato di Malta, but Piranesi ordered that those trees be replaced with laurel, thus creating the Romanesque arch frame for the keyhole view of St. Peter’s dome.

Laurels planted specially by the architect
to frame the scene

According to Roman legend, Aventine Hill was imagined as a sacred ship that would eventually set sail for Heaven, so Piranesi incorporated many nautical elements and symbols into his designs. The ornamental door of Santa Maria del Priorato Chapel symbolized the entrance to the ship deck, while the manicured gardens within were the ropes and rig of the ship. Perhaps the telescope-style keyhole that ends at St. Peter’s was a message that the sea voyage from the gardens of Malta to Heaven is not that long.

Originally, the area was the site of a fortified Palace belonging to Alberic II, who donated it to the famous Benedictine Abbot Odo of Cluny in 939. Then, in the 12^th century it passed into the hands of the Knights Templar until 1312, the year that Pope Clement V infamously disbanded the Order.

Santa Maria del Priorato Chapel & the gardens inside the Piazza of the Knights of Malta

Their assets in Rome became the property of the Order of Saint John, and so it has remained ever since. The villa became the historic seat of the Grand Priory of Rome in the 16th century and housed the Sovereign Order of Malta’s embassy to the Italian Republic. Since 1834 the villa has been the institutional seat of the Order of Malta’s Grand Master and government.

The keyhole view

Share

Follow us

Adapted from Purgatory by Fr. F.X. Shouppe, S.J.,
London, 1920, pp 52-53
Posted November 23, 2024

______________________