Rome
Neighborhoods
Ancient Rome was
founded on seven hills - the Capitoline, Palatine,
Celium, Aventine, Quirinal,
Viminal and Esquiline - which engendered various
neighborhoods with their own distinctive characteristics and identity.
For close to 3000 years,
water has shaped and shifted the way Rome developed as a city and a civilization -
from the draining of the marshes to the aesthetic beauty of the Trevi Fountain. The
inhabitants of Ancient Rome enjoyed heated baths, in which the entire room was the
tub. They also had some of the earliest human waste disposal systems - courtesy of
ingeniously used water.
The Roman municipal government was well organized and each household's
name was written on a lead sheathed pipe that supplied them. Families were billed
according to the size of the nozzle on the pipe.
The Rome of today has been overhauled
to be almost unrecognizable, when compared to even a hundred years ago. The central
portion of the city experienced major renovations, and more and more people moved to
the suburbs, draining off the overcrowding in inner Rome.
Trastevere
Literally translated,Trastevere means
"over the river", since it is separated from the centre of Rome by the Tiber river.
This is a very Roman Neighborhood and its residents consider themselves real Romans.
This characteristic part of the city has many pizzerias and restaurants, bars and
music venues, and is a very vibrant part of the city. Across the river Tiber,
towards the historical centre of Rome we find the Jewish Ghetto of Rome that houses
one of the oldest surviving Jewish communities in Europe. The Via del Portico
d'Ottavia with Renaissance and Medieval architecture is the centre of Jewish
life.
The Vatican
Ratified in 1929 as an independent state, the Vatican City houses St Peter's
basilica, the largest church in the world and an architectural achievement of the
Renaissance, the Vatican Museums, with world class works of art by Michelangelo's
and Raphael.
The Rail Station
Area Most people arrive in
Rome by rail. Even if you fly, the train will get you into town. The area near the
station is mainly seedy. The buildings are relatively modern and non-descript. For
many years the area was unsafe but recent efforts have cleaned it up to be at least
tolerable in the daytime. Via Palestro vicinity. It's just a couple blocks away
from the station but quiet and frequented by many students and backpack types. If
you are young and on a budget this would be a good area to be. You can take the
metro to Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) or you can walk it in about 25-30 minutes.
Via Vento
Area Another world-famous
area, the Via Veneto is another wide boulevard of a street. It winds its way from
what I would consider the border of the main center of Rome to the Piazza Barberini.
The area has many embassies (inlcuding the US Embassy) and really takes on a feeling
of just that. There are some luxury hotels but many, many 4 star 'tour-type'
properties. This is because the proximity is fairly good to the main sites yet
busses can still get in and out without much trouble. Like the Piazza di Spagna
area, everything here will cost more and the location is just so-so for the
individual traveler. If you can afford this area, you can afford other areas of Rome
with better location and more charm.
Spanish Steps Area The Spanish Steps area is
definitely one of the more exclusive part of the city. Much like Rodeo Drive or Park
Avenue, you'll find the best of everything.
Mostly on the streets leading away from the square such as Via Condotti. Famous
hotels such as the Hassler Villa
Medici and the Grand
Hotel Plaza area also here. But you'll also find some smaller places. The problem
is that you'll have to pay a premium and for me the location is not that much
better than others in Rome. I'm sure some will disagree.
The Aventine and Testaccio The Aventine is one of
the most elegant areas in Rome with the Basilica of Santa Sabina and the church of
Sant'Alessio next to the orange gardens. The keyhole of the Maltese embassy offers
a wonderful view of St. Peter's dome. Testaccio, between the Tiber river and the
Aventine, is where Caius Cestius' Pyramid and the Protestant Cemetery ( tombs of
Keats & Shelley) can be found. Mt. Testaccio is a hill made of the broken
amphorae deposited between 140 and 255 A.D. Testaccio is also a good area for
finding traditional Roman cuisine. Its restaurants are less frequented by tourists
and prices tend to be among the more reasonable of Rome's centrally located
restaurants. EUR-this suburb owes its existence and atmosphere to Mussolini and the
Fascist Party, whose grandiose plans for a Universal Exhibition celebrating fascism,
faltered at the start of WWII. Only partly finished, plans were taken up again after
the war, without the political agenda behind them, and with a new modernist eye. The
acronym for Esposizione Universale Romana, stuck to the area, and it's known as EUR
today, an area of wide spaces, open boulevards, and well-to-do young residents with
fast cars. There are two outstanding architectural features to EUR, the first being
the imposing modernized Romanesque Palazzo dei Congressi. The other is the Palazzo
della CiviltA di Lavoro, known as the "square colosseum". Conceived in 1937 as a
tribute to the accomplishments of the Italian people, by and large, it has done
little to fulfill that dream, having served various purposes for short periods, then
being abandoned for something else. Currently, there are plans for an audio-visual
museum.
San
Lorenzo Just outside the city
walls near Via Tiburtina is San Lorenzo. Not far from the main Rome train station,
in the 1880's it was a working class area of the city. Now it is popular with
students due to its close proximity to La Sapienza University. The area boasts
numerous restaurants, clubs and bars.
Testaccio Named after
the mountain of discarded amphorae called Monte Testaccio, is a traditional
working-class area with a lively market.Testaccio is a bit off the beaten tourist
track, but contains many restaurants serving traditional Roman fare, and the area
around Monte Testaccio is becoming dense with night clubs.
Prati, Flaminio and
Parioli Prati, behind Castel
Sant'Angelo and next to the Vatican, is a great place for shopping. Crossing the
river at Ponte Milvio leads to the soccer stadium (a bizarre architectural tribute
to Mussolini that is probably the only left still intact in Italy) and Via Flaminia
which passes through the affluent residential areas. Parioli, north of Villa
Borghese, is one of the most elegant and expensive residential areas in Rome.
San Giovanni,
Nomentana and Monteverde The
19th century San Giovanni area is built around the Basilica of St. John in Lateran.
Outside the walls are the areas of Nomentana, and the charming Monteverde, where the
wonderful Villa Doria Pamphili Park is located.
