La Casina Dell'Orologio in Rome

A Cafe in The Gardens

For many years I've hoped to have a return visit to La Casina Dell'Orologio. 

The little green cafe is in the heart of Villa Borghese Gardens, in Rome.

1969

I remember visiting The Gardens with my family, in 1969. I was 11 and it felt like a magical oasis, after days of touring museums and cathedrals.

We 4 kids got to take a rowboat out on the lagoon. We visited the zoo and my dad held my brother up to feed the giraffe.

I remember how good it felt to stop and eat at an outdoor cafe on that beautiful spring day. I've never been able to recall the cafe's name, but I always hoped to someday find the place I remembered... with sweet doggies and funny statues.

Piazza del Popolo

​In 2023, Don and I flew into Rome on Good Friday. We only had one day to visit The Eternal City.

Luckily our hotel was near the wonderful Piazza del Popolo. I only had to climb some stairs to reach the beautiful gardens that sit high on a hill above Rome. I gave myself an hour to explore. No time to dine, but I hoped to find the cafe I remembered.

It was a lovely spring day. Just like 1969. I wandered and found the little green cafe!

I took a photo of the name so I would remember... for whenever we returned to Rome.

October  2025

It was fall the next time we were in Rome. Once again we stayed at a hotel near Piazza del Popolo and we climbed the slippery steps to reach the park.

It was cloudy and windy and the towering trees moved like eerie monsters.

I spotted one of the many statue busts, like the one in my family photo.  

The property looked a bit ominous. Or was I just feeling concerned because I'd read some pretty awful reviews about the sweet green cafe. Rude staff... awful food... high prices. Don and I figured we'd avoid disappointment and just stop in for cappuccino.

Welcoming

As we got closer, a framed menu lured us. I could see an open door with glowing lights. 

We stepped inside and the cafe felt fresh and relaxed. It had just opened.

The interior seemed inviting with its chandeliers and mosaic floors. I told the man holding menus that we'd like to sit outside. 

He invited us to sit anywhere, so we made sure to find a table near one of the serious looking marble busts.

It wasn't the same head that looked over my family's table in 1969, but this one looked just as serious. 

​Giacoma Zanella

The patio tables were more enclosed than years ago, so I had to step outside the bushes to get a good look at the serious man who stood above our table. Hmm? Was C. Spazzi the sculptor?

The internet told me Mr. Zanella was an Italian poet.

Cardinal Guglielmo Massaia

While stepping outside the patio, I paused a moment to look at another notable Italian, with a pigeon on his head.

I looked up Mr. Massaia and learned he was a missionary, who did work in Ethiopia. There are over 200 busts displayed throughout the Pincian Hill Area, of the Borghese Gardens. Evidently 3 are actually women.

​Menu

Back at the table, it was time to make a coffee choice. There were about 16 coffee options on the menu.

I was pretty amazed I could get a cappuccino for less than 5 euros. The whining reviews that I read earlier, complained of high prices. But I'd pay plenty for a drink or meal, seated anywhere in Borghese Gardens.

Coffee Corrected

Don was pretty excited about the idea of corrected coffee. We learned that "corrected" meant a shot of booze. The Italians started "correcting" or masking the odd flavors of coffee substitutes in the 1930s... back when coffee was hard to get, due to high taxes.

It wasn't even noon yet, but Don figured, "When in Rome..." He went for the Coffee With Corrected National Spirits. Corrected with Amora, an Italian liqueur. Just one euro more!

Don looks as serious as our nearby poet friend. Despite his expression, he   enjoyed his special coffee very much.

I was happy with my cappuccino. No decaffeintated barley cappuccino for me.  

It was pleasantly quiet that morning at the cafe. I looked around us and wondered where my family had been seated in 1969. Everything looked more spread out. 

I told our server that I had come here as a child in the '60s. He said there had been many changes since then. 

New Addition

​He took me inside to see the newest addition. 

I counted 5 tree trunks, rising up through the roof. 

Since 1922

The trees were a reminder that this area had once been outside. It was a little hard communicating, but our server seemed enthused that I was interested in the history.

The cafe actually began as a small wooden kiosk, in 1922. It was reconstructed in 1960 and expanded with indoor seating, in 1970. This larger area came much later, I believe.

​
I spotted a marble bust in the corner and walked over to have a better look.

This guy named Gino had a beard, so he was not the statue near our table 56 years ago.

Eyes?

​Wikipedia told me that Gino Capponi was an "Italian statesman and historian of a Liberal Catholic bent." 

Wikipedia didn't tell me why all the marble busts seemed to be asleep. However Later, I learned that the eyes of the statues in the park, were originally painted on. Obviously after time, the painted irises and pupils wore off.

​A Nice Visit

I feel so lucky that our relaxed visit to La Casina turned out well.

I wish I'd never read the poor reviews. I'm so glad that we felt welcomed and enjoyed our coffees beside that serious poet.

Maybe on the next visit to Rome, we'll order a bite and rent a rowboat and feed a giraffe!