Stock Photo - Rome Colle Aventino, The keyhole of the Villa del Priorato di Malta perfectly frames the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. A decidedly unusual and exciting perspective game: there are in fact those who point out that it is the only lock in the world from which you can see another state, namely the Vatican, even if on Italian soil, through the door of a villa that enjoys the right of extra territoriality. This is in fact the institutional seat of the Order of the Grand Priory of Rome of the Knights of Malta (now known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta). A fortified Benedictine monastery once stood in this place, strategically located on the bend of the Tiber and passed into the hands of the Knights Templar. After the suppression of the order, it became the property of another chivalric religious order, the Knights Hospitallers. Several dynasties succeeded each other in the possession of this place, which, over time, had been restored and from a monastery had become a Renaissance complex. But it was thanks to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Rezzonico that in 1765 the Rococo-style entrance square was built, sumptuously decorated with coats of arms and trophies. The majestic entrance door to the square is the one from which you can 'spy' St. Peter's in the distance.21, July 2021. - Rome/Italy/Italien