Rome has paid tribute to Mary Gayley Senni, the American founder of the city's rose garden, with a plaque at the Roseto Comunale on the slopes of the Aventine hill. The unveiling ceremony on Friday was attended by city officials and the grandchildren of the garden's founder who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1884.

Mary, whose father James Gayley made his fortune in the US steel industry, arrived in Rome aged 18 on a Grand Tour of Italy with her mother and sister. During her time in Rome, Mary met an Italian count, Giulio Senni, who she would describe as her "one true love".