RIONE MONTI
In Roman times the area was densely populated: the upper part of the district (from the Baths of Diocletian to Suburra) consisted of noble domus around the Vicus patricius (today via Urbana). The low and swampy part, still drained by the Cloaca Maxima, it developed around the via dell’argiletum (the name was due to the continuous presence of clay and mud coming from the contemporary confluence of the rainwater of the Quirinale, Esquilino and Viminale hills) which corresponded to the current via Leonina and via Madonna dei Monti. This area, called Suburra, was known to be plebeian, dense with lupanari and shabby inns . Further down, in the valley between the Capitol and the Palatine Hill, there were the Imperial Fora, separated from the popular district always at risk of fire by means of the large breakwater stone wall gabina that still serves as the architectural backdrop to the Forum of Augustus.
Piazza San Francesco di Paola, Loggia Borgia and Suburra Arch, in a 1982 photo
In the Middle Ages the situation was quite different: the Roman aqueducts had been damaged and it was difficult to get water because of the raised ground (it is a hilly area); for this reason the inhabitants tended to move to Campo Marzio, a flat area downstream of the hills. After all, the inhabitants of Rome were accustomed to drinking the water of the Tiber, once drinkable.
From the Middle Ages until the beginning of the nineteenth century the district remained essentially an area rich in vineyards and vegetable gardens, sparsely populated due to the shortage of water and the remoteness from the Vatican, cultural center of that period. The only thing that prevented the area from becoming totally inhabited was the presence of the basilicas of San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore, now connected by the historic Via Merulana: the continuous influx of pilgrims always guaranteed a large number of people on the territory.
After the urban settlement of 1570 by the cardinal Michele Bonelli, known as the Alessandrino (nephew of Pope Pius V Ghisleri), the area near the cow pasture and Via Alessandrina, later, thanks to the new roads built by Pope Sixtus V (the so-called Sistine track), the district came to be, starting from the ‘600, repopulated.
Also in the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of Monti, called monticiani, developed their strong identity, so much so that their Roman dialect was slightly different from that of the other districts. There was a rivalry between the inhabitants of the other district with a strong identity, Trastevere, which often in the fourteenth century resulted in bloody clashes between inhabitants of the two districts [2].
Later, the urban development of the late 1800s (Rome had just become the capital) and the great disasters of the fascist period completely changed the face of the district. In particular, between 1924 and 1936 a large portion of the lower part of the district was destroyed to build Via dei Fori Imperiali (then Via dell’Impero) and to bring to light the remains of the Imperial Fora.
The district is very large and urbanistically, very composite: ranging from the areas of intensive urbanization of the nineteenth century (like that between the Viminale and the Quirinale, with axis on Via Nazionale, and all the building of Via Cavour and Via Merulana) and even more recent (like the one between the Esquilino and the Celio, with axis on via Amba Aradam), to the archaeological park consisting of the area Colle Oppio – Colosseum – Ludus Magnus – Foro di Nerva – Foro and the Markets of Trajan.
The building fury of the first forty years of the kingdom of Italy have saved as much the area of Suburra, of which tourists love the “picturesque” as that of Trastevere. Particularly appreciated from this point of view and increasingly popular, in recent years, is the area between Via Nazionale and Via Cavour (Via del Boschetto, Via dei Serpenti, Via Panisperna and Via Baccina), which for the peculiarity of the houses, the narrow streets, the craft shops and the little shops seem to retain the characteristics of nineteenth-century Rome. The area, full of trattorias, cafes and bars, gravitates to the Piazza della Madonna dei Monti, near the homonymous church, which still serves as a meeting point for local residents and occasional visitors. Despite the increase in the price of properties in the historic center, the district is still one of the most populous in Rome. Monti remains a district in continuous motion and an attraction for thousands of tourists, with its main arteries, the Colosseum, the Imperial Fora, its towers and noble palaces, which make it one of the most beautiful and full of history of Rome.
