Via Merulana is a street in the

Rione Monti Monti is the 1st of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. I, located in Municipio I. The name literally means 'mountains' in Italian and comes from the fact that the Esquiline, the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal and the Cael ...

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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is south of the main train station ( Stazioni Termini) of Rome, near the

Oppian Hill The Oppian Hill (Latin, ''Oppius Mons''; ) is the southern spur of the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven hills of Rome, Italy. It is separated from the Cispius on the north by the valley of the Suburra, and from the Caelian Hill on the sout ...

. The street connects two major papal basilicas: the

Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

to the St John Lateran. The name derives from family that owned the land during the medieval period. The present street was initiated by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

in the late 16th century and finished not long after by

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

. On the route described above are the facades of the church of

Sant'Antonio da Padova Sant'Antonio, Italian for Saint Anthony, most often refers to places named after Saint Anthony of Padua or Anthony the Great, Sant'Antonio Abate: People Places Switzerland *Sant'Antonio, Bellinzona, municipality in canton of Ticino *Sant'Antoni ...

and the adjacent Franciscan convent. Previously the site was occupied by the Villa Giustiniani Massimo. At the intersection with the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Via Labicana The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east-southeast from Rome. The course after the first six miles from Rome is not taken by any modern road, but it can be clearly traced from remains of pavement and buildings. It seems possibl ...

is the facade of the ancient church of

Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano is a Roman catholic parish and titular church in Rome on the Via Merulana. One of the oldest churches in Rome, it is dedicated to Saints Marcellinus and Peter, 4th century Roman martyrs, whose relics wer ...

. On the intersection with via di San Vito is the church of Sant'Alfonso di Liguori all'Esquilino of the Order of the Redemptorist Priests.Roma Segreta
website. Instead, on the intersection with via Mecenate is the

Auditorium of Maecenas The Gardens of Maecenas, or ''Horti Maecenatis'', constituted the luxurious ancient Roman estate of Gaius Maecenas, an Augustan-era imperial advisor and patron of the arts. The property was among the first in Italy to emulate the style of Persi ...

, a nymphaeum part of the

Gardens of Maecenas The Gardens of Maecenas, or ''Horti Maecenatis'', constituted the luxurious ancient Roman estate of Gaius Maecenas, an Augustus, Augustan-era imperial advisor and patron of the arts. The property was among the first in Italy to emulate the style ...

. Other institutions on the route include the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale and the

Pontifical University Antonianum The Antonianum, also known as the Pontifical University of Saint Anthony (, ), and as Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum, is a Franciscan pontifical university in Rome named in honour of Anthony of Padua. It is located in the Rione Esquiline Hill, Es ...

. The ancient church of San Matteo in Via Merulana was destroyed in 1810. The street is included in the crime novel '' That Awful Mess on Via Merulana'' by the Italian writer

Carlo Emilio Gadda Carlo Emilio Gadda (; 14 November 1893 – 21 May 1973) was an Italian writer and poet. He belongs to the tradition of the language innovators, writers who played with the somewhat stiff standard pre-war Italian language, and added elements of di ...

References

Merulana Merulana {{Italy-road-stub

See also

References