Gardens of Sallust

The Gardens of Sallust, or Horti Sallustiani, were a large and celebrated landscaped estate in ancient Rome founded in the late 1st century BC by the historian Gaius Sallustius Crispus. They became famous for their size, statuary and pleasure grounds and later passed into imperial ownership.

In antiquity the gardens contained terraces, pavilions, fountains and a large collection of marble sculpture and artworks that drew comment from Roman writers. They were situated outside the densely built Republican-era city and functioned as an elite suburban retreat for leisure and display.

Over the centuries the gardens’ land was subdivided and built over; many of the ancient structures were quarried or incorporated into later Roman and medieval buildings. Archaeological finds associated with the Horti Sallustiani have been dispersed among museums and sites in Rome.

The former extent of the gardens lies in central Rome to the north-east of the Forum and near the modern Via Veneto and the Quirinal/Pincian area, now part of the city’s dense urban fabric.

• Founding: The ancient gardens were founded by the Roman historian Sallust in the late 1st century BC and later became imperial property.