Trastevere () is the 13th of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. It is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within

Municipio I Municipio I is an administrative subdivision of the municipality of Rome, encompassing the centre of the city. It was first created by Rome's city council on 19 January 2001 and has a president who is elected during the mayoral elections. On 11 ...

. Its name comes from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

(). Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

on a red background, the meaning of which is uncertain.

History

Regal period The Roman Kingdom, also known as the Roman monarchy and the regal period of ancient Rome, was the earliest period of Roman history when the city and its territory were ruled by kings. According to tradition, the Roman Kingdom began with the c ...

(753–509 BC), the area across the Tiber belonged to the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

: the Romans named it ''Ripa Etrusca'' (Etruscan bank). Rome conquered it to gain control of and access to the river from both banks, but was not interested in building on that side of the river. In fact, the only connection between Trastevere and the rest of the city was a small wooden bridge called the '' Pons Sublicius'' (English: 'bridge on wooden piles'). By the time of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

BC, the number of sailors and fishermen making a living from the river had increased, and many had taken up residence in Trastevere. Immigrants from the East also settled there, mainly

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s and

Syrians Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural ...

. The area began to be considered part of the city under

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, who divided Rome into 14 regions (''regiones'' in Latin); modern Trastevere was the XIV and was called ''Trans Tiberim''. Since the end of the Roman Republic the quarter was also the center of an important

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community, which lived there until the end of the Middle Ages. Rome's oldest remaining synagogue, though not used as such any longer, is found in the district. The building was constructed in 980, and became a synagogue in 1073 through the efforts of lexicographer Nathan ben Yechiel. Within the building there was also a

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

. At the base of the central column

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

writing is still visible. Its use as a synagogue ended when the Jews were forced to move to the

Roman ghetto The Roman Ghetto or Ghetto of Rome () was a Jewish ghettos in Europe, Jewish ghetto established in 1555 by Pope Paul IV in the Sant'Angelo (rione of Rome), Rione Sant'Angelo, in Rome, Italy, in the area surrounded by present-day Via del Porticus ...

on the other side of the

Tiber river The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

in the mid-16th century. It is now used commercially, and can be found at 14, Vicolo dell’Atleta. With the wealth of the Imperial Age, several important figures decided to build their ''villae'' in Trastevere, including Clodia, (

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes. Life ...

' "friend") and

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

(his garden villa, the ''

Horti Caesaris The Horti Caesaris (''Gardens of Caesar'') was the name of two parks belonging to Julius Caesar in Rome. Quirinal These were located at Porta Collina on the Quirinal. As the Servian Wall had lost its defensive function by this time and had be ...

''). The ''regio'' included two of the most ancient churches in Rome, the ''Titulus Callixti'', later called the

Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere () or Our Lady in Trastevere is a titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the church date back to the ...

, and the ''Titulus Cecilae'',

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th-century Churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, in the Trastevere rioni of Rome, rione. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia (early 3rd century AD) and serves as the conventual church for the adja ...

. In order to have a stronghold on the right Bank and to control the Gianicolo hill, ''Transtiberim'' was partially included by Emperor

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

(270–275) inside

the wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/ EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera which explores Pink, a jaded rock star, as he constructs a psychologic ...

erected to defend the city against the Germanic tribes. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Trastevere had narrow, winding, irregular streets; moreover, because of the ''mignani'' (structures on the front of buildings) there was no space for carriages to pass. At the end of the 15th century these ''mignani'' were removed. Nevertheless, Trastevere remained a maze of narrow streets. There was a strong contrast between the large, opulent houses of the upper classes and the small, dilapidated houses of the poor. The streets had no pavement until the time of

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

at the end of the 15th century. At first bricks were used, but these were later replaced by

sampietrini ''Sampietrini'' (also ''sanpietrini'') is the pavement found in the historic district of Rome and in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City. The earliest examples were made by trimming large blocks that had been used in ancient Roman roads, as rec ...

(cobble stones), which were more suitable for carriages. Thanks to its partial isolation (it was "beyond the Tiber") and to the fact that its population had been multicultural since the ancient Roman period, the inhabitants of Trastevere, called ''Trasteverini'', developed a culture of their own. In 1744 Benedict XIV modified the borders of the ''rioni'', giving Trastevere its modern limits.

Modern day

Nowadays, Trastevere maintains its character thanks to its narrow cobbled streets lined by ancient houses. At night, natives and tourists alike flock to its many pubs and restaurants, but much of the original character of Trastevere remains. The area is also home to several foreign academic institutions including The American University of Rome and

John Cabot University John Cabot University (JCU) is a private American university in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1972 and it offers undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, and study abroad programs to English-speaking students. The university has more than 700 ...

(both of which are private American universities), the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

, the Rome campus of the

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is a Private college, private Catholic liberal arts college in Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1978, it emphasizes Classical education movement, classical education in the Catholic ...

, the Canadian

University of Waterloo School of Architecture The School of Architecture is one of the professional schools of the University of Waterloo. It offers a professional program in architecture accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board at the master's level (M.Arch.). It is par ...

(between the months of September and December), and the American

Pratt Institute School of Architecture The Pratt Institute School of Architecture is the architecture school of the Pratt Institute, a private university in New York City. In 2020, the program was ranked among the ten best architecture schools in the United States. Alumni include Pas ...

therefore serving as home to an international student body. The neighborhood has attracted artists, foreign expats, and many famous people. In the sixties and seventies, the American musicians/composers Frederic Rzewski and

Richard Teitelbaum Richard Lowe Teitelbaum (May 19, 1939 – April 9, 2020) was an American composer, keyboardist, and improvisor. A student of Allen Forte, Mel Powell, and Luigi Nono, he was known for his live electronic music and synthesizer performances. He ...

, of the group Musica Elettronica Viva, lived in Via della Luce.

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

, the director of Spaghetti Westerns, grew up in Viale Glorioso (there is a marble plaque to his memory on the wall of the apartment building), and went to a Catholic private school in the neighborhood.

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

, the film music composer, went to the same school, and for one year was in the same class as Sergio Leone.

Geography

The ''rione'' is on the west bank of the River

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

, south of

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

, in the plain between the meander of the river and the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; ), occasionally known as the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the pro ...

Hill. In addition to the river, which marks the eastern border of the borough, the area is delimited to the west and to the south by the

Janiculum walls The Janiculum walls (Italian: Mura gianicolensi) are a stretch of defensive walls erected in 1643 by Pope Urban VIII as a completion of the Leonine wall (defending the Vatican Hill) and for a better protection of the area of Rome rising on the r ...

, and to the north by the Galleria Principe Amedeo di Savoia-Aosta tunnel.

Boundaries

To the north, Trastevere borders with Borgo (R. XIV), whose border is defined by a portion of

the walls The Walls are an Irish rock band. They were formed in 1998 by two members of The Stunning – brothers Steve and Joe Wall. Their debut album ''Hi-Lo'' was released in 2000 and included the singles "Bone Deep", "Something's Wrong" and "Some K ...

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

, beside Rampa del Sangallo and Viale delle Mura Aurelie, by Piazza della Rovere and by Ponte Principe Amedeo. To the east, the ''rione'' borders with Ponte (R. V),

Regola Regola is the 7th of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. VII, and belongs to the Municipio I. The name comes from (the name is recognizable in the modern ''Via Arenula''), which was the name of the soft sand ( in Italian) that the river T ...

(R. VII) and Ripa (R. XII): the border is marked by the stretch of the

between Ponte Principe Amedeo and

Ponte Sublicio Ponte Sublicio, also known as Ponte Aventino or Ponte Marmoreo, is a bridge linking Piazza dell'Emporio to Piazza di Porta Portese in Rome (Italy), in the Rioni Ripa, Trastevere and Testaccio and in the ''Quartiere'' Portuense. The most anc ...

. To the south, Trastevere borders with ''

Quartiere A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed a ...

'' Portuense (Q. XI), from which is separated by a short stretch of the

Aurelian Walls The Aurelian Walls () are a line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC. The walls enclosed all the ...

beside Piazza di Porta Portese; as well as with ''Quartiere'' Aurelio (Q. XIII), from which is separated by the stretch of the Walls between Porta Portese and Porta San Pancrazio. Westward, it borders with ''Quartiere'' Gianicolense (Q. XII), whose boundary is marked by the Aurelian Walls, alongside Viale delle Mura Aurelie.

Places of interest

Palaces and other buildings

* Palazzo Corsini alla Lungara, in Via della Lungara, seat of the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

of Rome. *

Villa Farnesina The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy. Built between 1506 and 1510 for Agostino Chigi, the Pope's wealthy Sienese banker, it was a novel type of suburb ...

, in Via della Lungara. * Palazzo San Callisto, fronting Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere and Piazza di San Calisto. Vatican extraterritorial building. Houses some departments of the Roman Curia. *

Villa Lante al Gianicolo Villa Lante al Gianicolo is a villa in Rome on the Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo). It is a summer house designed by Giulio Romano in 1520-21 for Baldassare Turini, as one of Romano's first independent commissions after the death of his master Raph ...

, in Passeggiata del Gianicolo. *

Villa Sciarra The Villa Sciarra is a villa in Frascati, Italy. Also called ''Villa Bel Poggio'', the Villa Sciarra was built in 1570 at the orders of Ottaviano Vestri. The portal gate of the gardens is to ascribe to Nicola Salvi. The main edifice of the ...

, in Via Calandrelli. * Villa Spada, in Via Giacomo Medici, built in 1639, seat of the Irish embassy to the Holy See. * Regina Coeli, in Via della Lungara. * San Michele a Ripa.

Churches

* Santa Maria dell'Orto *

San Crisogono San Crisogono is a church in Rome (rione Trastevere) dedicated to the martyr Saint Chrysogonus. It was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, and was probably built in the 4th century under Pope Sylvester I (314–335). T ...

* Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori *

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative ''martyrium'' ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante. History The Church o ...

* San Callisto * Sant'Agata in Trastevere *

Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo Sant'Onofrio is Italian for "St. Onuphrius". This name may refer to: Places * Sant'Onofrio, Calabria, a municipality in Vibo Valentia, Calabria, Italy * Sant'Onofrio, Campli, a ''frazione'' (submunicipal division) in Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy * Sant' ...

* San Benedetto in Piscinula * Santa Maria della Luce * Santi Maria e Gallicano * Sante Rufina e Seconda * Santa Margherita in Trastevere * Chiesa di San Cosimato * Santi Quaranta Martiri e San Pasquale Baylon * San Francesco a Ripa * San Giovanni Battista dei Genovesi * Santa Maria in Cappella * Sant'Egidio * Santa Maria della Scala * Santa Dorotea * San Giovanni della Malva in Trastevere * Santa Croce alla Lungara * San Giacomo alla Lungara * San Giuseppe alla Lungara * San Giosafat al Gianicolo * Sant'Antonio Maria Zaccaria * Oratory of Santa Maria Addolorata in Trastevere * Santa Maria del Buon Viaggio * Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Villa Lante * San Francesco e Santa Caterina patroni d'Italia * Santa Maria del Ritiro al Gianicolo * Santa Maria della Visitazione e San Francesco di Sales

Fountains

* Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere * Fontana dell'Acqua Paola * Fontanone di Ponte Sisto

Piazzas

* Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere * Piazza Trilussa * Piazza di San Cosimato * Piazza di San Calisto * Piazza di San Francesco d'Assisi * Piazza Giuseppe Giochino Belli * Piazza de' Renzi * Piazza di Sant'Egidio * Piazza della Scala * Piazza Mastai * Cortile Santa Ceclila in Trastevere * Piazza dei Mercanti * Piazza Bernardino da Feltre

Education

Public libraries in Trastevere include ''Casa della Memoria e della Storia''.Biblioteche ed i Centri specializzati
" City of Rome. Retrieved on 8 September 2012.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 41, 53, 14, N, 12, 27, 56, E, region:IT_type:city, display=title Rioni of Rome Restaurant districts and streets !