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Trastevere
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Trastevere,
which gets its name from the Latin word, Transtiberim, “across
the Tiber”, is the area on the other side of the river from Ancient
Rome which, in the early decades was largely unsettled, a place where
wealthy Romans had their villas or farmlands and not a location for
major ancient monuments – those destined to survive during the
centuries. Subsequently, and by the reign of Augustus (27BC to 14 AD),
it became home for thousands of Jews and “Syrians”, that
is other foreigners, and was included at the time of the first Roman
Emperor’s administrative reform became part of the Regio XIV,
is fourteenth urban district. Other early residents, generally referred
to as "non-conformists", included the early Christians who,
if not martyred, were busy constructing the neighborhood’s first
basilicas, such as Santa Cecilia and Santa Maria in Trastevere. |
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By
the second half of the third century, Trastevere had become a vast urban
neighborhood, populated by workers, merchants and artisans and criss-crossed
by major arteries, including the the Aurelia Vetus. This road named
after the Emperor Aureliano who reigned from 270 to 275, had its starting
point (see the map below) at the pons Aemilius, later renamed the
Ponte Rotto, or broken bridge, and ran north along what is
today Via della Lungaretta, climbing up the Janiculum
Hill and exiting the city through Porta Aurelia, today's Porta San Pancrazio. |
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At
Piazza S. Egidio, a secondary branch of the road turned
sharply right and continued on to Porta Settimiana
and on between the Janiculum and the Tiber, moving north along today’s
Via della Lungara. A third road, which began further
down the Tiber, near the now extinct pons Probi, ran through Trastevere
along what is now Via Luciano Manara to Piazza
San Cosimato and the windmills of the Janiculum and was the
dividing line between that part of Trastevere which was more urbanized
and the southern-more area of the Horti, the area’s orchards
and vegetable gardens. |
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It
should be mentioned that scholars now appear convinced that the triangular
Piazza San Cosimato was part of the site built for the Naumachia, a
giant flooded amphitheatre constructed by the Emperor Augustus for the
re-enactment of major naval battles and inaugurated in 2 AD. And archeologists
have found fragments of a mosaic floor dating even earlier, and that
is to the time of the Roman Republic, which may have been part of a
“domus”, or Roman villa. The fact remains that by the sixth
century, the piazza had been turned into a Christian cemetery, one of
the first inside the city walls. And a church was erected on the spot
that in the in the 10th century became the site of a Benedictine monastery
dedicated to the saints Cosma and Damian, later parts of which can still
be seen inside the grounds of the Regina Margherita Hospital which now
occupies part of the area. |
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Trastevere
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The
Trastevere neighborhood was long referred to as “popolare”,
meaning that it was an area inhabited by largely lower-income Romans
who could trace their “romanità” back at
least several generations. Your typical “Trasteverino” would
thus be extroverted, sharp-tongued and possibly a bit arrogant, since
the residents of this area consider themselves to be the true descendants
of the ancient Romans and are proud that the neighborhood was an insurrectionist
hotbed during the short-lived 1849 revolt against the papacy. Following
the unification of Italy in 1870, which marked the end of the Church's
temporal power, the "bulli" of Trastevere were known for their
violent escapades and the local poet, Gioacchino Belli (his statue stands
at Piazza Belli, where Viale Trastevere meets the river higway, wrote
often of their clashes with the young toughs of another “popolare”
neighborhood, Monti. |
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No
one really knows why, but the Trasteverini tend to have loud, rather
hoarse voices and to speak with a very heavy Roman intonation, the equivalent
– let’s say - of a very thick Brooklyn accent. Traditionally,
they would drink lots of coffee, often spiked with aniseed, breakfast
on maritozzi (plain, sweet rolls filled with fresh whipped
cream) and choose heavy lunch or dinner entrées such as spaghetti
cacio e pepe (spaghetti with grated caciotta cheese and
pepper) or coda alla vaccinara, oxtail in tomato sauce, and
smoke like fiends. They are a dwindling race, since over the last several
decades many have left the area either by choice, preferring the newer,
more modern apartments built in the postwar period, or forced out by
gentrification and spiraling rentals. But enough of them remain to allow
the neighborhood to keep much of its traditional color and character. |
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As
for the area’s ancient international flavor (again those Jews
and Syrians!), this was certainly heightened following the Second World
War, when many foreigners chose this area because it seemed so “Roman”
and was (alas, this is no longer the case) considerably cheaper than
other central areas. Foreigners are still drawn to the quartiere
because of its relaxed atmosphere and style. Artisans are still around
but increasingly have given way to small clothing and jewelry shops,
bars, pizzerie and other eateries. In fact, the trattorie
of Trastevere have always been a draw for “outsiders”, especially
on weekends or during the Festa de’ Noiantri (“Our
own festival”) held every July. Nowadays, in the evenings the
restaurants have been supplemented by scores of small locali
or clubs, sometimes consisting of only a few tables, which appeal to
young people. Many intellectuals - filmmakers, artists and students
- also live here. This, along with an abundance of street peddlers,
art galleries and boutiques, explains why today's Trastevere is often
compared to the Marais in Paris or New York’s Soho or Greenwich
Village. |
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Today’s
Trastevere is informally divided into two parts, one stretching upriver
from Viale Trastevere (see location maps)
in the direction of the Vatican and, nestling on the lower slopes of
the Janiculum Hill, passes through Porta Settimiana along Via della
Lungara where you come to the Botanical Gardens, once part of the beautifully
post-baroque Palazzo Corsini, and to Villa Farnesina which during the
Renaissance Siennese lawyer Agostino Chigi had decorated with frescoes
by Raffaelo and others. The other part, primarily on the southern side
of Viale Trastevere, runs by Tiber Island and includes lovely Piazza
in Piscinula, the church of Santa Cecilia and, at its outer limit, Porta
Portese where, every Sunday morning, the neighborhood is given over
to a large flea market. But the heart of the neighborhood is Piazza
Santa Maria in Trastevere, the piazza facing the magnificent basilica
of the same name and which, with its cafes and restaurants, its newsstand
and pharmacy, is akin to a village square for many of the area's residents.
Nowadays, many people still shop in the outdoor market in nearby Piazza
San Cosimato or buy bread on Sunday mornings at the forno (bakery)
in Via del Moro. In the distance, beyond the Basilica, looms the Janiculm
Hill, where churches such as San Pietro in Montorio and Sant’Onofrio
compete for attention with the breathtaking Roman panorama. |
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