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Flexible TravelSituated across the river from Rome's ancient centre, Trastevere was once the city's working-class artisan district, a warren of narrow streets and cloistered piazzas that housed Rome's tradesmen, fishermen, and foreign communities from the east of the empire.
Fast-forward 2,000 years and while Trastevere's professional and ethnic makeup has changed its rugged, bohemian character has not. This article takes you through the history of Trastevere, from its early settlement by the Etruscans to its current popularity in Italian cinema.
Check out our district guide to Trastevere
Trastevere comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, which roughly translates as ‘across the River Tiber’. But this isn't how the ancient Romans would have known it. They called the area Ripa Etrusca — the Etruscan Bank — after Rome's great rivals, the Etruscans, who occupied this side of the river for much of Rome's early history.
The Etruscan presence on the Tiber's west bank also explains why Trastevere's Janiculum Hill doesn't feature among the Seven Hills of Rome. The Janiculum Hill offered a vantage point over both Etruscan territory to the west and Rome to the east - hence why it was named after Janus, the two-headed god.
Reconstruction of how Rome might have looked in the 8th century BC. Trastevere consists of little more than dirt roads and a bridge (45)
The Janiculum Hill became incorporated within the city during the seventh century BC, when King Ancus Marcius brought it within the city walls and connected it to the city via a bridge known as the Pons Sublicius (Bridge of Wooden Stilts).
He did this so no enemy could occupy its advantageous heights. In fact, whenever Rome's People's assembly, the Comitia Centuria, left the safety of the city walls to hold their elections in the Campus Martius, a guard would ascend the Janiculum and raise a red flag to signal to them they were safe.
As the Roman Republic expanded, and foreign trade boomed, more traders started making their way upriver into the city from the port city of Ostia and setting up shop in Trastevere.
For most of the Republic, Trastevere was connected to the east bank of the River Tiber via just one bridge. Trastevere's isolation from the rest of Rome forged a unique culture, made more unique still by the settlement of Rome's first Jews and Syrians during the Roman Republic and the arrival or conversion of Rome's first Christians from the early years of the Roman Empire.
Trastevere officially became incorporated within the city of Rome during the reign of Augustus (31 BC - 14 CE). He divided the city into 14 districts known as rioni, of which Trastevere was the 13th (XIII).
At the height of the Roman Empire, Trastevere was a mishmash of culture and architecture. Garum-reeking warehouses and poor residential districts bordered opulent villas and lush gardens, one of which belonged to Julius Caesar. In the 340s CE, it would have its first church, Santa Maria in Trastevere. And although Trastevere's earliest existing synagogue dates from the 11th century, during the imperial age it would have been home to schools, synagogues and private places of worship.
At the centre of all of this stood the naumachia, an enormous aquatic Colosseum completed during the reign of Augustus in which mariners battled to the death recreating naval battles for the entertainment of the masses. Archaeologists believe that Augustus' naumachia lies beneath today's Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere. Stand there today, and you can still make out the shape.
The Naumachiae. Fed by its own aqueduct, the Aqua Augusta. Copyright Marquettes Historique
Piazza San Cosimato today
Trastevere's main allure is its labyrinth of quaint narrow cobbled streets and colourful, ivy-covered buildings. But you might notice that there are no grand palaces with elaborate fountains, unlike the rest of Rome. That's because when the Goths sacked the city in the 400s AD, they destroyed the bridges connecting Trastevere to the rest of Rome, cutting it off for more than 1,000 years.
Rome's population waned considerably throughout the early Middle Ages. Its Jewish community gradually migrated closer to the city centre, on the eastern side of the river, where the papal authorities would establish the Ghetto in 1555. Trastevere was left abandoned.
When Rome's administrators agreed on the new boundaries of twelve districts in the mid-12th century, Trastevere was not among them. It would only reemerge from obscurity two centuries later when its population had started to grow once again.
Il Tevere, by Ettore Roesler Franz
Via della Lungaretta by Ettore Roesler Franz
Trastevere's lack of noble palaces compared to Rome's centre means it isn't best known for its museums and galleries. But Villa Farnesina is among the most stunning in Rome and well worth a visit.
Built for the banker Agostino Chigi in the early 16th century, Villa Farnesina occupies a vast corridor of land next to what is now the John Cabot University on the bank of the Tiber. The villa is notable for its realistic and subversively erotic frescoes by Raphael and Giulio Romano.
It passed into the hands of the uber-rich, pope-providing Farnese family in 1590. According to legend, the family would often host extravagant banquets there, and to show off their wealth they would throw their silverware into the Tiber at the end of each meal. (What they didn't share was that they had cast nets beneath the water to catch and recycle this silverware in time for the next meal!)
Trastevere is still known as a foreigners' district today. It is home to three American universities, draws thousands of international tourists every day, and is a popular haunt among Rome's Erasmus students.
As Rome has Seven Hills, Trastevere now has seven bridges connecting it to the east bank of the city. Some Romans claim that Trastevere is the true heart of Rome. It is popular with the locals on a Saturday night for eating and drinking thanks to its numerous bars and restaurants.
The residents still celebrate the annual Festa de’ Noantri – literally the festival of ‘us others’. It is an ancient festival from 15-29 July that recalls Trastevere’s separation from the rest of the city and their fierce independent character.
Porta Settimiana at the end of the 1800s. Notice the White Star Line poster, advertising the line of ships that included the RMS Titanic.
Part of Trastevere's appeal comes from its appearance in Italian cinema.
The weekly flea market at Porta Portese (every Sunday) featured in the 1948 film I ladri di biciclette (The Bicycle Thieves), a post-war neorealist drama that follows a desperate father and son's odyssey around Rome in pursuit of a stolen bike.
The terrace and fountain of the Janiculum Hill serve as the backdrop to the opening of Paolo Sorrentino's La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) in which a Japanese tourist is so overcome by Rome's beauty, or heat (or both) that he passes out.
Carpe Diem Tours specialises in small-group Rome tours that bring storytelling and expertise to the Eternal City's timeless attractions.
Make sure to check out our Rome Food Tour, winner of the 2024 Viator Award for food experiences in Europe. Taking place in Trastevere, this extremely filling food tour gives you insider access to Rome's best delicatessens, pizzerias and restaurants and all delicious dishes the locals keep to themselves.
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