2 Best Sights in Repubblica and Quirinale, Rome

This small, verdant park across the street from the Piazza del Quirinale is a good spot to stop and take a break. In the center sits an equestrian statue of King Carlo Alberto, the king of Piedmont-Sardinia during the turbulent period of the Reunification of Italy. There are benches to sit and kids often play on the grass. If you happen to be in the area at sunset, cross the street to see the spectacular sunset over Piazza del Quirinale and the rooftops of Rome.

Built for aristocrats-come-lately, the Torlonia family—the Italian Rockefellers of the 19th century—this villa became Mussolini's residence and now serves as a public park. The Casino Nobile, the main palace designed by architect Giuseppe Valadier, is a grand, Neoclassical edifice, replete with a gigantic ballroom, frescoed salons, and a soaring temple-like facade. While denuded of nearly all their furnishings and art treasures, some salons have important remnants of decor, including the reliefs once fashioned by the father of Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Antonio Canova.

A complete contrast is offered by the Casina delle Civette (Little House of Owls), a hyper-charming example of the Liberty (art nouveau) style of the early 1900s. The gabled, fairy tale–like cottage-palace now displays majolica and stained-glass decorations, including windows with owl motifs—a stunning, oft-overlooked find for lovers of 19th-century decorative arts. Temporary exhibitions are held in the small and elegant Il Casino dei Principi (The House of Princes), designed in part by Valadier.