Rome plants new roses in the city's rose garden on Aventine Hill.

"Such a purchase had not been made for 10 years," said the mayor who added that the some of the new roses will replace plants killed by an unidentified parasite.

"The Rose Garden is a precious place" - said Raggi - "Inside there are varieties of roses that participate in a prestigious international competition, the Premio Roma, in addition to the botanical collection, consisting of about 1,200 ancient and modern roses."

• The story of Rome's rose garden

Located on the eastern slope of the Aventine hill, overlooking the Circus Maximus, the rose gardens are usually open free of charge from late April until mid-June each year, and often for a couple of weeks in October.

For more information on the rose garden see the city website. Photo credit: Boris-B / Shutterstock.com.

Nel bellissimo Roseto comunale, ai piedi dell’Aventino, abbiamo aggiunto altre 340 nuove rose. Pensate un acquisto del genere non veniva fatto da 10 anni: https://t.co/SuUBbQzUXx pic.twitter.com/toRXQxTUfk

— Virginia Raggi (@virginiaraggi) February 28, 2021