It's not a church. It's not a museum. It's not even a classic viewpoint.

And yet there's a line at the plain green door every day.

The Aventine Keyhole is one of the most famous hidden places in Rome - although the word "hidden" doesn't quite apply anymore.

You can also find it under the names:

• Keyhole of the Order of the Knights of Malta
• Aventine Keyhole
• Buco della Serratura
• Knights of Malta Keyhole
• Keyhole of the Knights of Malta

Located in Aventine near the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, there is only one reason to visit.

The view. But not just any view.

Find a hotel with a view of Rome

Why come here?

This is important to know in advance. You won't come to a great classic panoramic viewpoint.

You look through a simple keyhole in the door.

And that's the magic of it.

Through the keyhole, you can see..:

• a perfectly aligned avenue of trees
• in the middle of the dome, St. Peter's Basilica
• the optical illusion of a "picture in a frame"

The whole view looks unnaturally perfect.

The dome sits precisely among the trees, creating one of the most famous photographs of Rome.

And yes - it really does look like the photos, if you're patient enough with your phone's camera settings.

Come before 9:00. Otherwise, expect a queue.

This is the most important practical information.

Ideal time:

• before 9:00 a.m.
• ideally around 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Queues often start to form after 9am. Plus, after noon the basilica gets some sun, so getting a good photo in the afternoon is even more challenging than in the morning and mid-morning.

After 9:00 in season or on weekends:

• The 30-minute wait is no exception.
• even 45-60 minutes.

Which, given that the experience itself takes a few seconds, is not exactly ideal.

I would only come here again in the morning.

I've written two articles on this subject:

• 👉 Rome without crowds: my tips
• 👉 How I enjoyed a free Rome

Practical information

• Admission: free
• Opening hours: 24/7
• Best time: morning

I personally didn't manage to take a perfect picture, I didn't have enough patience and the dome is very overexposed.

Count on the fact that many people take several minutes at a keyhole to fine tune their shot, which further lengthens the queue.

How to get there and what's nearby?

You always have to walk a short distance uphill to reach the Aventin hill.

The nearest public transport stations are:

• Piramide - metro line B 🟦 direction Centre, Termini, about 15 minutes on foot
• Ostiense - trains direction Fiumicino Airport FCO or train direction Lido di Ostia beach, approx. 15 minutes on foot
• Porta San Paolo - trams 3 and 8 direction Trastevere, approx. 15 minutes on foot

I set off from Piramide/Ostiense stations on foot to the keyhole and from there continued down the hill on foot to the Mouth of Truth and Circo Massimo.

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