Page 294 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Rome

292  ROME AREA B Y AREA

A Two-Hour Walk Around the Aventine

Rising just across the Circus Maximus from the Palatine, the St. Peter. The current church
residential Aventine Hill has served as a leafy haven of villas dates largely to a Renaissance-
and mansions since Imperial times. This southernmost of era remodeling, and includes a
Rome’s legendary seven hills is still an oasis where traffic noise Passignano altarpiece. Continue
all but disappears. Yet few visitors walk here – despite the lure north up Via di Santa Prisca,
angle left through Largo Arrigo
of fine old churches, lovely city panoramas, and rarely visited VII, turn left on Via Eufemiano,
ancient ruins. You will also explore Testaccio, a fine area for and immediately right onto Via
authentic local cuisine, and see a Roman pyramid. Sant’Alberto Magno. This leads
right into Parco Savello 8, a
an angel in disguise. garden of orange trees with
Turn left down Via di a panoramic river view over
San Gregorio, and cross Trastevere. Leaving the park,
wide Piazza di Porta turn right onto Via di
Capena, keeping the Santa Sabina
long, dusty oval of the to the
L U N GO T E V E RE AVENT INO
Circus Maximus 5 V I A DEI C ERCHI VIA DI S. GREGORIO
PARCO DEL
(see p207) on your right. PARCO DI VIA DEL CIRCO MASSIMO 4
CIRCO
MASSIMO
At the start of Viale PORTO DI RIPA GR A ND E SAVELLO PIAZZALE
UGO LA
Aventino you will see 8 5
the modernist bulk 9 Circo Massimo PIAZZA DI
PORTA
LARGO
of FAO 6, originally Te v e r e V. S. ALBERTO ARRIGO VII MALFA V. D. TERME DECIANE CAPENA
SABINA
MAGNO
intended to be the 0 VIA DI SANTA VI A DI VAL LE D E L L E C AM EN E
Ministry of Italian PIAZZA D. VIA S. DOMENICO PIAZZA 7 V I A D. FONTE DI FAUNO 6
VIALE G. BACCE L L I
TEMPIO
Africa when EMPORIO q DI DIANA
Mussolini was VIA DI S. PRISCA V I A L E A V E N T I N O VIALE D. TERME DI CARACALLA
V. S.
launching his ill- w VIA DI PORTA LAVERNATE GIOSAFAT
fated conquest of LUNGOTEVERE TESTACCIO VIA S. MELANIA P A R C O D I
P O R T A
1 The gymnasium at the northwest side of the the Horn of Africa. V I A AV E N T I N A C A P ENA PIAZZA DI S. 3
BALBINA
Baths of Caracalla Since its 1952 VIA A. VESPUCCI V I A M A R M O R ATA PIAZZA ALBANIA 2
PIAZZA
completion, it has D. SERVILI 1 PIAZZALE
NUMA
The Aventine housed the UN’s Food and VIA GIOVANNI BRANCA PIAZZA V. ASINIO POLLIONE POMPILIO
VIALE
PIAZZA
Begin at one of Rome’s most Agriculture Organization. TESTACCIO M. GELSOMINI REMURIA
magnificent ancient sites, the V I A G . B AT T I S TA V. D. PIRAMIDE CESTIA
massive Baths of Caracalla 1 (see Across the Aventine V I A A L D O M A N U N Z I O PARCO DELLA
RESISTENZA
DELL’8
p199), where plebeian and Turn right on Via del Circo V. L. GHIBERTI SETTEMBRE
patrician alike once bathed Massimo, and immediately VIA NICOLA ZABAGLIA VIA GALVANI PORTA
P. DI
(and, much later, where the left onto Via della Fonte di S. PAOLO
poet Shelley found inspiration Fauno to start climbing the VIA GALVANI y
for Prometheus Unbound). Just Aventine Hill. This leads you e VI A C AI O CE ST I O u PIAZZALE
OSTIENSE
MONTE
outside the Baths’ entrance sits to a small piazza before the TESTACCIO t Piramide
the church of SS Nero e Achilleo church of Santa Prisca 7, r TESTACCIO
2 (see p196), with 9th-century built in the third century VIA MONTE Stazione
mosaics. Across Viale delle atop the house where the C A M P O B O A R I O San Paolo
Porta
PIAZZA V.
Terme di Caracalla lies tiny San martyred saint’s parents hosted V I A L E D E L BOTTEGO
Sisto Vecchio 3, first home of the VIA OSTIENSE
Dominican nuns (see p195). VIA GIOVANNI DA EMPOLI
Turning northwest up Viale delle
Terme di Caracalla, take the first VIA DEL PORTO FLUVIALE
right onto Via di Valle delle
Camene, a tree-lined avenue
parallel to the main road. Angle
right up Salita di San Gregorio,
and ascend the imposing VIA DEL COMMERCIO VIA F.
staircase of San Gregorio Magno NEGRI
4 (see p194) for great views of
the Palatine. Look for the third-
century marble table (in the VIA OSTIENSE
St. Barbara chapel, on the left
side of the church) at which 0 meters 300
St. Gregory the Great shared i
meals with the poor and, once, 7 The apse of Santa Prisca 0 yards 300
US_292-293_EW_Rome_US.indd 292 15/03/17 4:21 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.9)
Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm