Rome - Aventino-Testaccio

Aventino and Testaccio are neighborhoods of Rome.

Aventino is named for the hill which rises up near the Tiber river and is one of the legendary seven hills of Rome.

Testaccio is an area to the southwest of Aventino along the bank of the Tiber and is named for the eighth hill of Rome. The man made hill that was built from discarded pot amphoras (testae) in Roman times. In Testaccio you can find great traditional roman restaurants, and at night the zone is filled with discos.

Travel to Rome - Aventino-Testaccio - Visa Requirements

Rome - Aventino-Testaccio tourist attractions and sightseeing

From the top of the Aventino you have a great view of the entire city. Immediately below you, the Tiber river snakes its way through the city, and directly beyond it you can see the lively medieval quarter of Trastevere. Beyond that is the majestic dome of St. Peter's Basilica, with the historic centre of Rome visible to the right. The viewpoint is in an orange grove on the grounds of Santa Sabina all'Aventino church.

• Parco Savello is the name of the grounds in the Santa Sabina church and also where you will find the "second" best views of Rome. The best views are arguably from Janiculum hill, just across the Tevere.

Keyhole view

The most popular thing on the Aventino hill itself is to take a peek through the keyhole that lets you look through three countries (the third is the Soverign Military Order of Malta, which owns the building that the keyhole belongs to) and see St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City perfectly framed between two rows of trees.

Getting to the keyhole can be a little complicated. If you are walking down Via Teatro de Marcello away from the theatre, you will pass two skeleton temples on your right and a fabulous church (Santa Maria in Cosmedin) with a medieval tower on your left. Shortly after this, and after passing the left turn that would take you to the Circus Maximus, turn left up a steep hill and you will find yourself on top of the Aventino. After coming to a T-junction, turn right and walk a couple of hundred metres past the entrances to a couple of parks on the right (these parks themselves offer great panaromic views of Rome). The keyhole building is one of several on the right side as you come to the end of the road. Take a peek through and the walk will have ben worth it.

Another way to find the keyhole is by walking along the side of circo massimo on the Via del Circo Massimo, after the rose garden turn up to the left. You will go up a somewhat steep hill and arrive alongside the beautiful Santa Sabina church. After the church a bit further up the road you will come to the keyhole on your right hand side. Usually there will be a few people there.

Testaccio

Monte Testaccio (alternatively spelled Monte Testaceo; also known as Monte dei cocci) is an artificial mound in Rome composed almost entirely of testae (Italian: cocci), fragments of broken amphorae dating from the time of the Roman Empire. It is one of the largest spoil heaps found anywhere in the ancient world, covering an area of 20,000 m² at its base and with a volume of approximately 580,000 m³. It has a circumference of nearly 1 km (0.6 miles) and stands 35 m (115 ft) high, though it was probably considerably higher in ancient times.[1][2] It stands a short distance away from the east bank of the River Tiber, near the Horrea Galbae where the state-controlled reserve of olive oil was stored in the late second century AD.

Rome - Aventino-Testaccio city tours

Rome - Aventino-Testaccio Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

If you are stuck on the Aventino and haven't brought any food with you, there is usually a temporary food stall near the keyhole. But this food is overpriced and not very good; the best bet is to buy some food at a supermarket before you arrive and have a picnic at one of the parks on the Aventino overlooking the Tiber and the city.

Rome - Aventino-Testaccio nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Rome - Aventino-Testaccio cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Contact

Weblinks

• Rione Testaccio - Fotogallery story

This page was last edited by Peter Fitzgerald. Based on work by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license