You know the catchphrase “Here once was all country!”? Here, “here” is the Prati district, where, until the early twentieth century, houses could really be counted on the fingers of one hand and there was nothing but vegetable gardens, gardens and pastures. Beginning at the end of the nineteenth century and within the space of a very few years, the many urban interventions created a modern and vital neighborhood, an ideal residence for the new secular bourgeoisie who, in addition to working, wanted to have fun and shop. Among Art Nouveau buildings, stores and cafes, Prati still retains its vintage soul while keeping up with the times.
Prati in name and in fact
A little more than a century ago, in 1921, the Prati district was established as Rome’s last neighborhood. Its name comes from the fact that for centuries this area was covered only with green: meadows, in fact. First those of Domitia and Nero in the days of ancient Rome, then areas dedicated to crops and grazing from the Middle Ages onward. Throughout history the area was also home to the armies that had tried to take over Castel Sant’Angelo or the whole city: the “barbarians,” the Lansquenets, and finally the Napoleonic troops. Prati’s was a very marshy area because, during the flooding of the Tiber, it acted as a buffer area where the river waters lost their strength, thus preventing them from flooding the nearby Borgo district. These fields, because of the proximity of the river and Monte Mario, were, until World War I, the favorite destination for out-of-town trips for many Romans.
Anticlericalism in the streets of Prati
Like other Umbertine neighborhoods of Rome, for example the Esquiline, the Prati district developed according to a geometric grid with large avenues and large squares. Legend has it that Rome’s secular and anticlerical city council imposed a veto on the dome of St. Peter’s: from no street in the new neighborhood, in fact, was there to be a perspective view of the Dome. This may not have been an official order, but one only has to take a walk in Prati to realize that the world’s most famous dome was indeed “obliterated” because it could not be seen from any street in the neighborhood.
In keeping with the spirit of the times, streets were named after the protagonists of ancient, republican and imperial Rome, the condottieri and literati of Latin and pagan classicism, and the heroes of the Risorgimento.
Prati’s main artery, Via Cola di Rienzo, bears the name of the Roman tribune who in the 14th century attempted to restore the Republic in Rome in opposition to papal power.
Piazza Cavour: not just palm trees
Among the symbols of the Prati District is Piazza Cavour, a large rectangular widening overlooked by several important buildings. The square, with a pedestrian green area full of palm trees, is perfect for enjoying a ray of sunshine on a bench or for a stop before or after visiting the very nearby Castel Sant’Angelo.
The monument to Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, soars in the center of the square: the great Piedmontese statesman, depicted in bronze on a pedestal adorned with patriotic and Risorgimento symbols of the newly born Italy, faces the rear facade of the Palazzo di Giustizia, the so-called Palazzaccio, a massive cyclopean building with massive forms, the seat of the Supreme Court of Cassation, which occupies one of the long sides of Piazza Cavour.
With your back to the Palazzaccio, in front of you, on the right, you will find the Teatro Adriano, now a multiplex cinema but with a glorious history behind it. Teatro Adriano was born as an opera house in 1898 and, from the very beginning, hosted performances by the most celebrated Italian composers, such as Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Mascagni and others. Great conductors and famous opera singers performed in this temple of music, which had an auditorium, two tiers of boxes and a stage of about 700 square meters! After World War II, the Hadrian Theater was converted into a movie theater, but for many years it continued to be a venue for performances of various kinds. On June 28, 1965, amidst policemen, delirious fans and onlookers, four English boys played and sang on the stage of the Hadrian Theater. Who were they? The Beatles, of course!
Between the Teatro Adriano and the Palazzaccio stands the Valdese Church, a building with a narrow facade between two cylindrical tower bell towers, eclectic in style, with some Art Nouveau, some Moorish, and some colonial elements. The interior is divided into three naves and instead of figurative images, forbidden by the Waldensian creed, features rich decoration with geometric and symbolic motifs.
In search of the churches of Prati District
The Waldensian one is the only church in the Prati district that stands in a square. All the others, following the trend of the time to minimize the importance of places of worship, were built in even side streets, simply aligned with the buildings that flank them. Those worth visiting are the Church of the Sacred Heart of Suffrage and the Church of St. Joachim.
The former, at Lungotevere Prati 2, was inaugurated in 1917, and is neo-Gothic in style, full of spires and statues. Also called “the little Duomo of Milan” because of its obvious reference to the symbol of the city of Milan, it houses the Museo delle Anime del Purgatorio in one of its rooms. The museum’s collection is a unique collection of documents and relics testifying to the alleged apparitions of deceased souls who allegedly left “fireprints” on various objects.
San Gioacchino in Prati,the second church, is located on Via Pompeo Magno: it was donated to the faithful by Pope Leo XIII and inaugurated in 1898. The facade is preceded by a portico with six Corinthian columns while the dome is pierced by large crystal stars that rain light into the building, where it is diffused by dozens of smaller stars. The church’s 14 chapels are dedicated to as many nations who contributed their offerings to the church’s construction.
Near the Church of St. Joachim is Piazza dei Quiriti, adorned by the beautiful Fountain of the Caryatids: Renaissance-inspired, it consists of three overlapping pools of different sizes. The taller, smaller one is supported by four large seated nude female figures holding it with their arms raised. Every fourth Sunday of the month, Piazza dei Quiriti hosts an antiques and modern antiques market where you will find prints, paintings, books and much more: if you love browsing through old objects, mark this appointment in your diary!
The little villas of Prati, between innovation and reminders of the past
Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, a style spread throughout Europe that, in Italy, took on the name liberty or floral, due to the extensive use of ornamental plant motifs. Art Nouveau, characterized by elegant linearism, widespread decorativism, and the use of new materials (including iron, cast iron, ceramics, and stucco) became the style of the new bourgeoisie and its vital modernity. Walking through the Prati district, you will encounter some small villas that embody this elegant style and others that hark back to the past: all these buildings, despite some interventions that have more or less altered them, retain their ancient beauty.
Villino Cagiati, between Via Virginio Orsini and Via dei Gracchi, was built in 1902 by architect Garibaldi Burba, who mixed modernism and neo-Romanesque. Note the ceramics with flower and fruit motifs, wrought-iron railings with vine leaves, and fresco decorations reminiscent of Botticelli. At the top of the central turret stands a cartouche with Latin inscription that reads, “In arte libertas – in vitium ducit – si caret arte ‘ (’Freedom in art leads to error, if expertise is lacking”).
A few meters away, at 4 Via Alessandro Farnese, stands the Villino Vitale, whose frieze was decorated by Duilio Cambellotti, a multifaceted Roman artist, among the greatest of Art Nouveau, who was a sculptor and painter, but also a ceramist, graphic artist, engraver, and much more. Cross the street and admire the Villino De Pirro. On the same street you will also find the Villino Lombardi, the Villino Consiglio, the Villino Allevi and, a short distance away, the Villino Magnani, the Villino Macchi di Cellere, the Villino Bondi, the Villino Consiglio, the Villino Roberti… are there too many? And to think that they are not even all of them!
Via Cola di Rienzo: the Romans’ boulevard
When, in the 1920s, it began to be populated with fashion stores, delicatessen stores, cafes and performance venues, Via Cola di Rienzo became Rome’s corso, a wide boulevard that could rival those of other European capitals. Even today, it is still one of the most beloved streets in the Eternal City, and not only by residents of Prati.
This long street, which connects Piazza Risorgimento to Piazza della Libertà, is full of stores, bars, and also offers a cinema and a covered local market (currently closed for redevelopment), on whose terrace there was an active skating rink until World War II. Whether you love to shop, enjoy a breakfast or aperitif ( link to article on Prati’s bars and pastry shops), or see a movie on the big screen, Via Cola di Rienzo will not disappoint!
Uniforms, chills and…
If you have read this far, you have learned quite a bit about the Prati neighborhood, but if you think you know all its secrets, you are sorely mistaken. There is still much to discover: historic stores, clubs, restaurants ( link to article on Prati restaurants), and so much more, like, for example, these two unique places that we invite you to visit.
First of all the Museo Storico dell’Arma dei Carabinieri , a few steps from Piazza Risorgimento, where military history enthusiasts can learn all about the Benemerita, through documents, weapons and uniforms in the collection.
The second is a museum store, founded in 1989 by Dario Argento, the famous director of horror masterpieces. The store, located at Via dei Gracchi 260, is named after one of the master’s most famous films, Profondo rosso, and is dedicated to horror, science fiction, detective stories and mystery. In this unusual place, a meeting point for all lovers of the genre, you can shop or visit the Museum of Horrors, which collects memorabilia and rarities in a chilling atmosphere.
The coexistence of worlds so distant from each other is one of the many reasons that make Prati a neighborhood full of charm and all to experience: what are you waiting for to be surprised?
