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Aventino |
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| Aventine THIS IS ONE of the most peaceful areas within the walls of the city. Although it is largely residential, there are some unique historic sights. From the top cif the Aventine hill, crowned by the magnificent basilica of Santa Sabina, there are fine views across the river to Trastevere and St Peters. At the foot of the hill, ancient Rome is preserved in the two tiny Temples of the Forum Boarium and the Circus Maximus. The liveliest streets are in Testaccio. which has shops, restaurants and clubs, while to the south, of beside Romes solitary pyramid, the Protestant Cemetery is another oasis of calm |
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Colosseo |
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| THE Forum was the centre of political, commercial and judicial life in ancient Rome. The largest buildings were the basilicas, where legal cases were heard. According to the playwright Plautus, the area teemed with lawyers and litigants, bankers and brokers, shopkeepers and strumpets, good-for-nothings waiting Fig, for a tip from the rich. As Rome s population boomed, the Forum became too small. In 46 BC Julius Caesar built a new one, setting a precedent that was followed by emperors from Augustus to Trajan. As well as the Imperial Fora, emperors also erected triumphal arches to themselves, and just to the east Vespasian built the Colosseum, centre of entertainment after the business of the day. |
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Esquilino |
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| THE ESQUILINE is the largest and highest of Romes seven hills. In Imperial Rome the western slopes over looking the Forum housed the crowded slums of the Suburra. On the eastern side there were a few villas belonging to wealthy citizens like Maecenas, patron of the arts and adviser to Augustus. The essential character of the place has persisted l Michclangelo through two millennia: it is still one of the poorer quarters of the city. The area is now heavily built up. except for a rather seedy park on the Colle Oppio, a smaller hill to the south of the Esquiline, where you can see the remains of the Baths of Titus, the Baths of Trajan and Neros Golden House. The areas main interest, however, lies in its churches. Many of these were founded on the sites of private houses where Christians met to worship secretly in the days the religion was banned. |
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Laterano |
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| Lateran IN MIDDLE AGES the Lateran Palace was the residence of the popes. and the basilica of San Giovanni beside it rivalled St Peters in splendour. After the return of the popes from Avignon at the end of the 14th century, the area declined importance. Pilgrims still continued to visit San Giovanni and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, but the area remained sparsely inhabited. Ancient convents slumbered amid gardens and vineyards until Rome became capital of Italy in 1870 and a network of residential streets was laid out here to house fronnsan the influx of newcomers.Archaeological interest lies chiefly in the Aurelian Wall and the ruins of the Aqueduct of Nero. |
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Navona |
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| THE FOUNDATIONS of the buildings surrounding the elongated oval of Piazza Navona were the wined grandstands of the vast Stadium of Domitian, The ,d er piazza still provides a dramatic spectacle today with the obelisk of the Fontana dei Won on Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in front of the church of Sant' Agnese in Agone as its focal point. The predominant style of the area is Baroque, many of its finest buildings dating from the reign of Innocent X Pamphilj (1644-55), patron of Bernini and Borromini. Of special interest is the complex of the Chiesa Nuova, headquarters of the Filippini, the order founded by San Filippo Ned, the 16th-century Apostle of Rome. |
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Pantheon |
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| THE PANTHEON, one of the great buildings in the history of European architecture, has stood at the heart of Rome for nearly 2,000 years. The historic area around it has seen uninterrupted economic and political activity throughout that time. Palazzo di Montecitorio, built for Pope Innocent XII as a papal tribunal in 1694, is now the Italian parliament and many nearby buildings are government offices. This is also the main financial district of Rome with banking headquarters and the stock exchange. Not many people live here, but in the evenings, Romans stroll in the narrow streets and fill the lively restaurants eritif, and cafes that make this a In cafes focus for the city s social life. |
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Spagna |
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| Spanish steps By the 16th century, the increase in numbers of visiting pilgrims and ecclesiastics was making life in Romes already congested medieval centre unbearable. A new triangle of roads was built, still in place today, to help channel pilgrims as quickly as possible from the citys Lion fou north gate, the Porta del Popolo, to the Vatican. By the 18th century hotels had sprung up all over the district. Today this attractive area offers much more: the superb works of Renaissance and Baroque art in Santa Maria del Popolo and Sant Andrea delle Pratte, the magnificent reliefs of the restored Ara Pacis, art exhibitions in the Villa Medici, fine views of the tan in city from the Spanish Steps Popolo and the Pincio Gardens and Romes most famous shopping streets, centred around Via Condotti. |
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Trastevere |
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| Trastevere THE PROUD and aggressively independent inhabitants of Trastevere, the area across the Tiber, consider themselves the most authentic Romans. In one of the most picturesque old quarters of the city, it is still possible to glimpse scenes of everyday life that seem to belong to bygone centuries. There are, however, signs that much of the earthy, proletarian character of the place may soon be destroyed by the proliferation of fashionable restaurants, clubs and boutiques. Some of Romes most fascinating medieval churches lie hidden away in the patchwork of narrow, cobbled backstreets, the only clue to their location an occasional glimpse of a Romanesque bell tower. Santa Cecilia was built on the site of the martyrdom of the patron saint of music, San Francesco a Ripa commemo rates St Francis of Assisis visit to Rome, and Santa Maria in Trastevere is the traditional centre of the spiritual and social life of the area. |
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Vaticano |
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| AS THE SITE Where St Peter was martyred and buried, the Vatican became the residence of the popes who succeeded him. Decisions taken here have shaped the destiny of Europe, and the great basilica of St Peters draws pilgrims from all over the Christian world. The papal palaces beside St Peters house the Vatican Museums. Nuns With the added attractions of Peters Michelangelos Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms, their wonderful collections of Classical sculpture a make them the finest museums in Rome. The Vaticans position as a state within a state was guaranteed by the Lateran Treaty of 1929, marked by the building of a new road, the Via Bella Conciliazione, This leads from St Peters to Castel Sant Angelo. a monument to a far grimmer past. Built originally in st as the Emperor Hadrians mauseuare soleum, this papal fortress and prison has witnessed many fierce battles for control of the city |
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Via Veneto |
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| Via Veneto IN IMPERIAL ROME, this was a suburb where rich families owned luxurious villas and gardens. Ruins from this era can be seen in the excavations in Piazza Sallustio, named after the most extensive gardens in the Film direr area, the Horti Sallustiani. After the Sack of Rome in the 5th century, the area reverted to open countryside. Not until the 17th century did it recover its lost splendour, with the building of Palazzo Barberini and the now-vanished Villa Ludovisi. When Rome became capital of Italy in 1870, the Ludovisi sold their land for development. They kept a plot for a new house, but tax on the profits from the sale was so high, they had to sell that too. By :tor Federico Fe(lini 1900, Via Veneto had become a street of smart modern hotels and cafes. It featured prominently in Fellinis 1960 film La Dolce Vita, a scathing satire on the lives of film stars and idle rich, but since then has lost its position as the meeting place of the famous.Quirinale Trevi ONE OF THE original seven hills of Rome, the Quirinal was a largely residential area in Imperial times. To the east of the hill were the vast Baths of Diocletian, still standing in front of ss hat is now the main rail station. 1 (CCnmry H Abandoned in the Middle Ages, the district returned to favour in the late 16th century. The prime site was taken by the popes for Palazzo del Quirinale. Great families such as the Colonna and the Aldobran dini had their palazzi lower down the hill. With the end of papal rule in 1870, the surrounding area, especially the Via Nazionale, was rede veloped as the Quirinal became the residence of the kings of Italy, then of the President. |
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Marsala |
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