The Neighbourhood

How to describe Rome’s favorite neighborhood in a couple of lines?

Trastevere’s characteristic narrow, winding and irregular streets are coupled with the most fascinating history: Chosen by Julius Caesar’s as the perfect place to build his garden villa, the ‘Horti Caesaris’ in Roman times, Trastevere has then become a Jewish district in the Middle Ages, a working-class district in the past centuries and, today, is at the heart of Rome’s youth culture.

Two of the most ancient churches in Rome are located in Trastevere: the ‘Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere’ and ‘Santa Cecilia in Trastevere’.

Watch out for the traditional daily cannon shot: Since 1847, a shot is fired every day at 12 pm from the Gianicolo Hill – a tradition only interrupted during World War Two.

The Gianicolo Hill is only an 8 minutes’ walk uphill from Il Mulino. Reaching the top of the hill means experiencing one of Rome’s most spectacular views. From your apartment, walk up ‘Via di Porta S. Pancrazio’ and, keeping the right, walk up the narrow ‘Passeggiata del Gianicolo’ towards ‘Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi’.

Once you’re up, make sure you walk by the Gianicolo fountain. The ‘Fontanone’, as the Romans call it – literally, the big fountain – is connected to a 1^st century Roman aqueduct which supplied freshwater from as far as Lake Bracciano, about 56 km away (35 miles).

Spanning an area of 12 hectares, the Rome Botanical Gardens host over 3000 plant species. The area, once residence of the Queen of Sweden, belongs today to Rome’s public university La Sapienza. If you walk across the garden – upwards, towards the Gianicolo Hill – amidst Mediterranean evergreen oaks and Oriental planes, you will find panoramic glimpses of the eternal city.

Don’t forget to visit Villa Corsini: located just outside the entrance of the Botanical Gardens, the Villa hosts the much-acclaimed Galleria Corsini, including a Caravaggio and two Raffaello paintings (the Villa is currently under renovation work).