No Comments

The Jasmine Walk

By connecting San Pieter’s train Station to Aurelia street, the Jasmine Walk extends up to the Vatican walls. This little hidden paradise shows a different view of the Dome than the usual one.

Until the Jubilee of 2000, the Vatican Railway had two tracks, now it remains only one because the other one has been transformed, in fact, into the Jasmine Walk.

Why is it called The Jasmine Walk? This route was once called the Jasmine Valley, due to a road called “La Via dei Gelsomini” that existed before the annexation of Rome to the Kingdom of Italy. The Valley extended between the heights of the Vatican and that of the Janiculum.

It seems that there was a tavern with that name nearby. The owner wanted to pay homage to his origins,  the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany, which seemed to be the first to introduce the flower in Italy.

Also according to the legend, it was a gardener who stole the flower from the botanical garden of the Grand-Duchy, to give it to the girl he was in love with. The two got married thanks to that theft.

Today, the flower represents the symbol of marriage and good luck.