From its earliest days, Rome has been divided into administrative districts, which over time has led to the characterization of each of them, both socially, historically and culturally. This series of articles is an attempt to describe the oldest of them, i.e. the 14 central districts, with their main features, curiosities and legends. They should not be taken as a guidebook, as the city’s most famous landmarks will hardly be mentioned, as including every worthy detail would make the text too cumbersome. The theme of these pages is the neighborhoods themselves, with their special atmosphere.
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The following areas of the city, which developed in the 12th century, are considered historic:
I. Monti
II. Trevi
III. Colonna
IV. Campo Marzio
V. Ponte
VI. Parione
VII. Regola
VIII. Sant’Eustachio
IX. Pigna
X. Campitelli
XI. Sant’Angelo
XII. Ripa
The remaining 8 neighborhoods are considered modern. These include 19th century neighborhoods and 20th century neighborhoods
XV. Esquilino
XVI. Ludovisi
XVII. Sallustiano
XVIII.Castro Pretorio
XIX. Celio
XX. Testaccio
XXI. San Saba
XXII. Prati
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For completeness, the following maps show the entire modern administrative division of Rome, including, in addition to the historic core of the city, neighborhoods (areas immediately around this core), suburbs, and outer zones.
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35 blocks
I Flaminio, II Parioli, III Pinciano, IV Salario, V Nomentano, VI Tiburtino, VII Prenestino-Labicano, VIII Tuscolano, IX Appio Latino, X Ostiense, XI Portuense, XII Gianicolense, XIII Aurelio, XIV Trionfale, XV Della Vittoria, XVI Monte Sacro, XVII Trieste, XVIII Tor di Quinto, XIX Prenestino-Centocelle, XX Ardeatino, XXI Pietralata, XXII Collatino, XXIII Alessandrino, XXIV Don Bosco, XXV Appio Claudio, XXVI Appio Pignatelli, XXVII Primavalle, XXVIII Monte Sacro Alto, XXIX Ponte Mammolo, XXX San Basilio, XXXI Giuliano-Dalmata, XXXII Europa (EUR), XXXIII Lido di Ostia Ponente, XXXIV Lido di Ostia Levante, XXXV Lido di Castel Fusano
6 suburbs
The number of external zones is 59. They are shown in gray on the map. Note that there are 3 more neighborhoods on the very edge – from 33 to 35.
Zones
I — Val Melaina, II — Castel Giubileo, III — Marcigliana, IV — Casal Boccone, V — Tor San Giovanni, VI — Settecamini, VII — Tor Cervara, VIII — Tor Sapienza, IX — Acqua Vergine, X — Lunghezza, XI — San Vittorino, XII — Torre Spaccata, XIII — Torre Angela, XIV — Borghesiana, XV — Torre Maura, XVI — Torrenova, XVII — Torre Gaia, XVIII — Capannelle, XIX — Casal Morena, XX — Aeroporto di Ciampino, XXI — Torricola, XXII — Cecchignola, XXIII — Castel di Leva, XXIV — Fonte Ostiense, XXV — Vallerano, XXVI — Castel di Decima, XXVII — Torrino, XXVIII — Tor de’ Cenci, XXIX — Castelporziano, XXX — Castelfusano, XXXI — Mezzocamino, XXXII — Acilia Nord, XXXIII — Acilia Sud, XXXIV — Casalpalocco, XXXV — Ostia Antica, XXXVI* — Isola Sacra, XXXVII* — Fiumicino, XXXVIII* — Fregene, XXXIX — Tor di Valle, XL — Magliana Vecchia, XLI — Ponte Galeria, XLII* — Maccarese Sud, XLIII* — Maccarese Nord, XLIV — La Pisana, XLV — Castel di Guido, XLVI* — Torrimpietra, XLVII* — Palidoro, XLVIII — Casalotti, XLIX — Santa Maria di Galeria, L — Ottavia, LI — La Storta, LII — Cesano, LIII — Tomba di Nerone, LIV — La Giustiniana, LV — Isola Farnese, LVI — Grottarossa, LVII — Labaro, LVIII — Prima Porta, LIX — Polline Martignano.
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As you can see from the first map, the historical core of Rome is divided into 22 districts called rioni. This name is a corruption of the Latin word regiones, i.e. subdivisions. Originally there were 4 such subdivisions, and they were established by King Servius Tullius in the 6th century BC:
Regio I, Suburana (Subura regiones, from Latin sub urbs – urban fringes. The neighborhood included the hill of Caelius);
Regio II, Palatina (Palatine district. It included the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum).
Regio III, Esquilina (Esquiline district, from Latin ex quiliae – outside the built-up area);
Regio IV, Collina (The Hill District. It included two hills, the Quirinal and the Viminal);
All four “regions” were included in the pomerium, the sacred boundary of the city, which Servius Tullius marked with large stones.
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The Capitoline Hill was probably considered a separate sacred area because of the temples on it, including the main temple of Jupiter.
When the city was surrounded by the first wall, although called a Servian wall, but actually built during the Republican period, in the middle of the 4th century BC, Rome had already extended far beyond its sacred boundaries.
The city continued to grow, and at the beginning of the imperial period Octavian Augustus increased the number of regio to 14 by including the areas settled outside the servius wall. Nevertheless, the construction of a new wall was carried out almost three centuries later, under Emperor Aurelian. The reason for this was probably that, during the heyday of the empire, no one could have imagined that Rome might be threatened by external danger. The new regio were given both numbers and names corresponding to the main characteristics of each one.
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Regio I, Porta Capena (Porta Capena, the southernmost gate of the Servius wall);
Regio II, Caelemontium (Caelius and its secondary elevations);
Regio III, Isis et Serapis (Egyptian gods to whom the famous temple was dedicated);
Regio IV, Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace);
Regio V, Esquiliae (Outside the built-up area);
Regio VI, Alta Semita (High Semitic neighborhood);
Regio VII, Via Lata (Old name for the Flaminia Road in the city limits of Rome);
Regio VIII, Forum Romanum vel Magnum (Roman or Great Forum);
Regio IX, Circus Flaminius (Flaminius Circus);
Regio X, Palatium (Palace);
Regio XI, Circus Maximus (Great Circus);
Regio XII, Piscina Publica (Public Bath);
Regio XIII, Aventinus;
Regio XIV, Transtiberim (Beyond the Tiber).
The great fire of 64 and, following it, the equally devastating fire of 80 destroyed several regio, and most of the city was rebuilt. However, the so-called Chronographia of 354 (a calendar and almanac compiled and illustrated by the calligrapher Philocalus for an aristocrat named Valentinus) shows the same division of the city into districts as under Augustus, which apparently persisted into the late imperial period.
Rome underwent further destruction and change in the early Middle Ages (the so-called Dark Ages) during the wars with the Goths and barbarian invasions. As the Western Empire disintegrated, the administration of the city lost its power, and already in the 4th century the unofficial division of Rome on the basis of church jurisdiction (parishes, also called regio) began to be applied in practice. Thus the city was divided into 7 new districts:
Regio I, Aventinensis vel Horrea (on the Aventine or by the Granary);
Regio II, iuxta IV Coronatorum (at [the church of] the four Crowned);
Regio III, iuxta porta Maiore (at the gate of the Porta Maggiore, also known as the Porta Prenestina);
Regio IV, qui appellatur Campum Sanctae Agathae (which is called the Field of St. Agatha);
Regio V, iuxta arco marmoreo (by the marble arch. Not preserved. It stood on the Via Lata, now Via del Corso);
Regio VI, ad Sancta Maria in Sinikeo (at Santa Maria in Sinikeo);
Regio VII, ad Sanctum Petrum (at St. Peter’s. Corresponded to the old region of Transtiberim).
Despite these innovations, the original regio of Octavian Augustus was not abolished for several more centuries, leading to increasing confusion.
A document issued by Pope Leo VIII (963-964) mentions 15 regio, whose names appear to be a mixture of old administrative and ecclesiastical names. They were probably used informally, only to designate a district by its main landmark. Only three of them have a number, while the numbering of the others is unknown:
Regio prima Aventini (first district. Aventine);
Regio secunda Mamertini (second district. U Mamertina [1]);
Regio optava sub Capitolio (eighth district. Under the Capitolio (Roman Forum));
Regio de Vico Patricii (the neighborhood of Via Patricii. Unspecified);
Regio Caput Tauri (Bull’s Head neighborhood. Tiburtine Gate);
Regio clivi argentarii (neighborhood of the silversmiths’ alley);
Regio ad duos (amantes) (neighborhood by the two lovers. Unspecified);
Regio liberatica (neighborhood of Liberatica [2]);
Regio Sisinii (neighborhood of Sisinia. Not defined);
Regio Via Lata (neighborhood of Via Lata);
Regio Coelio Monte (neighborhood of Caelio Hill);
Regio urbis Ravenne (neighborhood of the city of Ravenna. Trastevere [3]);
Regio ad gallinas albas (neighborhood at the white chickens [4]);
Regio horrea (neighborhood of the granaries. Aventine);
Regio secus porta Metronii (the district at the gates of Metronia).
[1] – Near the Mamertine prison, at the northern end of the Roman Forum.
[2] – A distorted Biberatica (the name of an old Roman street behind Trajan’s market-place).
[3] – Trastevere was the camp of a military corps from Ravenna.
[4] – From the name of the old church of St. Sixtus ad gallindas albas. The Via Panisperna now runs along this spot.
In 1144, the senators who ruled the city at that time decided to divide the inhabited territory of Rome (much diminished since antiquity) into 12 districts, which were still called regio in official documents. These 12 districts did not include Tiber Island or any other area on the west bank of the river. In fact, Trastevere was not incorporated back into the districts of Rome until the early 14th century.
No trace of this reorganization is found in the early editions of Mirabilia Urbis Romae (Wonders of the City of Rome), a famous guide to the city’s main attractions written in Latin in the mid-12th century for pilgrims coming to Rome to visit the tomb of St. Peter. However, already in Le miracole de Roma, (Roman Miracles), 13th century, which is a translation of the Mirabilia into archaic Italian with some new parts added, this division into 12 districts is mentioned:
Regio Prima: Porta Capena, la dov’è la casa de lo Honore et de la Virtute (First district: Gate of Porta Capena, where stands the house of Honor and Virtue);
Regio Secunda: Celio monte, là dove era lo Macello de Claudio et lo maiure vordello de Roma (Second district: the hill of Celio, where Claudius’ slaughterhouse and the main brothel of Rome were located);
Regio Terza, là dove era lo Palazo de Yside et de Serapis (Third district, where stood the palace of Isis and Serapis);
Regio Quarta, la dove era templum Pacis (The fourth district, where stood the temple of Peace);
Regio Quinta, la dove era lo Pozo de Orpheo et lo Macello de Laviano (Fifth district, where stood the Well of Orpheus and the Slaughterhouse of Laviano);
Regio Sexta: Alta Via, la dove era lo Templo de Salustio et de Serapis;
Regio Septima: Via Lata, lo quale avea lo Pozo de Ganimede;
Regio Octava: lo Mercato Maiure de Roma (the main market of Rome);
Regio Nona: Palatio Maiure, et avea la Casa de Romulo (Ninth district: the Great Palace and the house of Romulus);
Regio Decima avea Templum Solis et Lune, et Templum Mercurii (The tenth district contained the Temple of the Sun and Moon and the Temple of Mercury);
Regio Undecima: Piscina Publica (Eleventh district: Public Bathing);
Regio Duodecima: Aventino (Twelfth district: Aventine);
The list shows how the ancient division of the city into districts by Octavian Augustus (classical, according to scholars) is still used for cultural purposes, despite losing its administrative efficiency.
A later edition of the Mirabilia, dating from 1220-1226, found in an Austrian library, mentions a much more complex division of the city into 26 districts:
Prima regio dicitur porticus Sancti Petri (The first district, called the portico of St. Peter [1]);
secunda pons Sancti Petri (Second, the bridge of St. Peter);
III scorteclari (3rd, tanners);
IV parrio (4th, Parione [2]);
V Sanctus Laurentius in Damaso (5th, Sanctus Laurentius in Damaso);
VI campus Martis (6th, Champ de Mars);
septima Sanctus Laurentius in Lucina (seventh, St. Laurence in Lucina);
octava columpna Antonini coclidis (eighth, spiral column of Antoninus);
IX Sancta Maria in Aquiro (ninth, Santa Maria in Aquiro);
X Sanctus Eustachius (10th, Sanctus Eustachius);
XI vinea Tedemari (11th, Tedemari Vineyard);
XII Areola (12th, small square. Not identified);
XIII Caoccavaia (13th, Caoccavaia. Not identified);
XIV S.Angelus piscivendoli (14th, Holy Angel of the fishmongers);
Quintadecima Pinea (fifteenth, Pine cone);
Sextadecima S.Marcus (sixteenth, St. Marcus);
VIIdecima Trivium (17th, Crossroads of Three Roads);
Octadecima Violata (18th, Violata [3]);
Nonadecima Campitellus (19th, Campitelli);
Vicesima S.Adrianus (20th, St. Adrianus);
Vicesima I Biberatica (21st, Biberatica [4]);
Vicesima II Montes vel Lateranum (22nd, Hills of Lateranum);
Vicesima III Ripa (23rd, Waterfront);
Vicesima IV Marmorata (24th, Marmorata);
Vicesima V Insula (25th, Island);
Vicesima VI Transtyberim (26th, Beyond the Tiber).
[1] – In the Middle Ages a long portico stretched from the castle built over Hadrian’s tomb to St. Peter’s Basilica.
[2] – Parione means “great wall,” and implies the remains of Domitian’s stadium, the present Piazza Navona.
[3] – Probably a corruption of Via Lata.
[4] – Via Biberatica.
Interestingly, the first two sites were located near the Vatican Hill, although in the 13th century the area was not yet officially part of Rome’s urban area.
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A catalog of the churches of Rome, composed in early Italian a century and a half later, at the end of the 14th century, again mentions district names and shows obvious changes in the urban division. The text begins with the following lines:
“There are thirteen districts in the city, which are named by the distorted folk term rioni. The first is the neighborhood of the Hills and Biberatica (street). The second is the neighborhood of the crossroads of the three roads and Lata Street. The third is the neighborhood of the column and Santa Maria in Acquiro…etc.”
It can be seen that despite the changes in the order of the districts, their names were still supplemented by mentioning local features or landmarks. Such additions were often the main churches of the districts. This new division of Rome, in which the word rioni is mentioned for the first time, uses district names that for the most part coincide with the modern ones, although their boundaries are not exactly identical:
“In urbe sunt Tredecim Regiones. Que corrupto et vulgari vocabulo dicuntur Rioni.
Quarum Prima est Regio Montium et Biberate (The first is the region of the Hills and Biberatica. Corresponds to the modern Monti (I));
Secunda. Regio Trivi et Vielate (Second. The neighborhood of the junction of the three roads and the Via Lata. Corresponds to the present-day Trevi (II));
Tertia. Regio Colupne et sancte Marie in Aquiro (Third. The neighborhood of Colupne and Santa Maria in Aquiro. Corresponds to the modern Colupne (III));
Quarta. Regio Posterule et sancti Laurentii in Lucina (Fourth. The neighborhood of the Small Gate and Sant’ Laurentii in Lucina. Does not correspond to the present Campo Marzio (IV));
Quinta. Regio Pontis et Scortichiariorum (Fifth. The neighborhood of the Bridge and tanneries. Corresponds to the present-day Ponte (V));
Sexta. Regio sancti Eustachii et vinee Tedemarii (Sixth. Regio sancti Eustachii et vinee Tedemarii. Does not correspond to the modern Parione (VI));
Septima. Regio Arenule et Chacabariorum (Seventh. The neighborhood of Arenule and the Potters. Does not correspond to the modern Regio Regola (VII));
Octava. Regio Parionis et sancti Laurentii in Damaso (Eighth. Regio Parionis et sancti Laurentii in Damaso. Does not correspond to the modern Sant Eustachio (VIII));
Nona. Regio Pinee et sancti Marci (Ninth. The neighborhood of Pinee et sancti Marci. Corresponds to the modern Pinee (IX));
Decima. Regio Sancti Angeli in foro piscium (Tenth. The neighborhood of St. Angeli in the fish market. Does not correspond to the contemporaneous Campitelli (X));
Undecima. Regio Ripe et Marmorate (Eleventh. The neighborhood of the Wharf and the Marmorates. Does not correspond to the modern Sant’Angelo (XI));
Duodecima. Regio Campitelli in sancti Adriani (Twelfth. Campitelli’s neighborhood in sancti Adriani. Does not correspond to the modern Ripa (XII));
Tertiodecima. Regio Transtiberim (Thirteenth. The neighborhood beyond the Tiber. Corresponds to the modern Trastevere (XIII)).”
As can be seen, part of the districts have matching names and ordinal numbers, and part have only names. And only the modern Campo Marzio has no name counterpart in the 14th century. Furthermore, if we compare these names with the long list of 26 districts given in the later edition of the Mirabilia, it becomes clear that the list most likely originated from a misinterpretation of the names. The double names of the 12 districts were simply divided into 24 parts.
Probably somewhere around the same time the districts acquired their coats of arms, which remained unchanged.
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At the end of the 16th century, Leonina (the city of Leo IV), i.e. the area of the Vatican that had hitherto been a suburban enclave, was finally incorporated into the city limits by Pope Sixtus V and became the 14th district of Rome. In 1743, Pope Benedict XIV reorganized the 14 rioni, and the following year their boundaries were marked by 220 marble plaques posted in the streets.
Half a century later, during the occupation of Rome by Napoleon’s army, a decree was issued renaming neighborhoods into sections, sezioni. Some neighborhoods were divided and some, on the contrary, united. The names were changed:
Sezione delle Terme (Section Terme. Part of the former neighborhood of Monti);
Sezione della Suburra (Section Suburra. Part of the former Monti neighborhood);
Sezione del Quirinale (Section of the Quirinale. Former Trevi neighborhood);
Sezione del Pincio (Section of the Pincio Hill. Former neighborhood of Colonna);
Sezione di Marte (Section of Marsa. Former Campo Marzio neighborhood);
Sezione di Bruto (Section of Bruta. Former Ponte neighborhood);
Sezione di Pompeo (Section of Pompeo. Former neighborhoods of Parione and Regola);
Sezione di Flaminio (Section of Flaminia. Former neighborhood of Sant’Eustachio);
Sezione del Pantheon (Sezione del Pantheon. Former districts of Pigna and Sant’Angelo);
Sezione del Campidoglio (Section of the Capitol. Former neighborhoods of Campitelli and Ripa);
Sezione del Gianicolo (Sezione del Gianicolo. Former Trastevere neighborhood);
Sezione del Vaticano (Section of the Vatican Hill. Former Borgo neighborhood).
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The French administration also removed all surviving district plaques.
After the end of the occupation, in 1814, the old division of the city into 14 districts was restored to their former boundaries. The plaques were re-installed along the streets, and most of them can still be seen on the old buildings. Some of the plaques have been cleaned and restored, and some are showing clear signs of their age.
Shortly after the fall of the Papal State (1870), the administration of Rome grouped the neighborhoods into larger entities, for which the old term regioni (from Latin regiones) was restored:
Regione I, Campidoglio (districts of Monti and Campitelli);
Regione II, Pantheon (the districts of Trevi, Parione, Sant’Eustachio and Pigna);
Regione III, Campo Marzio (neighborhoods of Colonna and Campo Marzio);
Regione IV, Adriana (neighborhoods of Ponte, Regola and Borgo);
Regione V, Tiberina (districts of Sant’Angelo, Ripa and Trastevere).
However, these unions did not last long, and at the turn of the century 14 districts again became independent administrative units.
In 1874, the largest district, Monti, was divided into two parts. The western part kept its name, while the eastern part became the 15th district, Esquilino.
In 1921, the municipality of Rome reorganized the districts again. The Trevi and Colonna were now separated. Their parts, located further from the city center and continued to be built up, received the status of separate districts, Sallustiano (17) and Ludovisi (16) respectively.
In the same year Castro Pretorio (18) gained district status. In the southern part of Rome, Celio (19) was spun off from Campitelli, and the outlying parts of Ripa became the districts of Testaccio (20) and San Saba (21). The last new rione in the same year 1921 was a neighborhood built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries north of Borgo. It was named Prati (22) after the old name prati di Castello (castle fields), once extensive cultivated fields behind the Castel Sant’Angelo. It is the only neighborhood outside the perimeter of the old city walls.
In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed in which Borgo lost half of its area as its western hilly part became an independent Vatican state.
Interestingly, under the existing administrative division of the city, many Roman bridges (and there are no less than 14 of them in the historic center) and the riverbed itself turned out to be “free zones” that do not belong to any district, since the boundaries of rioni always run along the streets stretching along the banks of the Tiber (lungoteveri) on the respective side of the district. The only exception, for historical reasons, is the Sant’Angelo Bridge. And, although the Ponti neighborhood takes its name from this bridge, the bridge itself has belonged to the Borgo neighborhood since the 16th century.
Despite Rome’s constant expansion (its area has tripled in size since the 1920s alone), no other new neighborhoods have been granted rione status. Instead, new built-up areas came to be called quarters, suburbs, and zones.
In the past, residents had a keen sense of belonging to a particular rione, which was the place where ordinary people spent most of their lives.
In each rione there was a certain hierarchy, at the top of which stood the caporione (head of the district), elected by the noble families and, from the second half of the 18th century, directly by the pope. The most important rioni was considered to be Monti, and his caporione had the privilege of being a member of the Magistrates, and thus part of the ruling establishment. In the 19th century, the head of the district became known as the president of the district.
The caporioni often conscripted the young men of the neighborhood, individually or in whole gangs, into the “neighborhood army.” Such “service” raised their social prestige and brought them the respect of the local population.
It is known that while camaraderie between neighbors within a single rione was common, there was a certain rivalry between the inhabitants of different rione, especially large ones. And violation of the local code of honor, called sgarri (violations), could easily provoke bloody clashes between the gangs of both sides.
Each rione was proud of its squares, buildings and monuments. Particular attention was paid to churches and minor religious institutions, such as street chapels, and hundreds of small shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary, popularly called madonnelle (little madonnas) and hanging from the corners of many buildings. Their maintenance was paid for by voluntary donations from neighborhood residents.
In 1927, the governor of Rome commissioned the architect Pietro Lombardi to build a series of small “neighborhood fountains”. They were built for the benefit of the residents in forms based on typical features of the respective neighborhoods.
However, the sense of neighborhood, which was in full force less than a century ago, has now all but disappeared.
