Rome‘s 17th quartiere is called Trieste and is located more or less between the Via Nomentana, the Via Salaria and the Villa Ada park north east of the center of the Eternal City. Its main tourist attractions are the fairy-tale neighbourhood of Coppedé, the complex around the Mausoleum of Costanza and the Catacomb of Priscilla.
Trieste District Rome (Quartiere XVII)
History
Excavations have shown that this part of Rome was already inhabited in prehistoric times, especially on the so-called Sedia del Diavolo and the Monte delle Gioie.
The Sabines settled on the Monte Antenna, a hill in the middle of the Villa Ada. Some ruins of their settlements can still be seen.
The area was of great importance in the time of the Roman Empire, partly through the presence of many catacombs (a.o. Priscilla’s Catacomb) and partly through the Via Salaria, which connected (and still connects) Rome to the Porto d’Ascoli on the other coast of Italy.
After the unification of Italy the Monte Antenna became an important hill in the defense of the western part of Rome. There was a huge munition depot.
As a quartiere Trieste has existed since 1926, though it was still called Savoia at the time. In those days it was characterized by prestigious residences, especially in that part of Trieste the architect Gino Coppedé called the Quartiere Coppedé, even though it is not officially a district.
In the 1930’s huge condominiums were constructed and after the war and the birth of the Italian Republic the quarter’s name was changed from Savoia tot Trieste.