Testaccio: Unexpected Rome

Testaccio:
Not the Usual Rome

sabato 31 marzo 2012

The name Testaccio comes from “mons testaceus”, the mountain of
pottery sherds (Testae), the amphorae, about 25 millions of them, that
arrived at the nearby port on the river Tiber and were eventually
emptied, broken and orderly stacked to form a real hill in the middle of
the city


1) New Market (replaced plein air
stalls, not interesting)
2) River Port
3) Porticus Aemiliae (Old
Wharehouse)
4) “mount Testaccio”, the hill made
of old amphorae
5) Former abattoire (now Museum
Contemporary Art
6) housing projects
7) Non-catholic cemetery
8) Aurelian Walls
9) S Maria Liberatrice
10) A.S. Roma first football field
11) fire brigade building


Summary

Testaccio started in roman times as an industrial area adjacent to the city: arrival terminal of grains,
oil, wine and marble that was towed up the river from the port of Ostia.

In the many centuries of decline that followed the fall of the empire, Testaccio was “countryside”, a
place where romans went to enjoy the outdoors.

This until 1870 when a new city plan restored its industrial role with the building of the city
abattoire, wholesale market, gas plant, railway terminal. Residential areas were also built for the
workers, making it the ﬁrst (and only) area in Rome of planned urbanization.

In the late XXth century, now completely urbanized but with no industrial activity left, the area is
again the center of entertainment for the romans who patronize the many taverns and bars and
attend the events at the Museum of Contemporary Art (in the buildings of the former abattoire)


To fully understand the evolution of the City, you need to
know the evolution of its demographics
56(7"8(+'()'9(#%:0';%#(<&-=,.>0'

Ceasar is killed
&!!!"

378: Battle of Adrianopoli
lost to Visigotes
%#!!"

Growth begins again
!"#$%&'()'*+,-$./-+/0'12223'

Punic Wars against Carthago

with XVI Century
%!!!"

XXth Century
Explosion
$#!!"

$!!!"

Imperial Rome Centuries of Abandonment
#!!"
(population between 30 and 50,000)
!"
'(!!" '$!!" )!!" *!!" $)!!" $*!!"
4%-&'


The “dump” was in use probably since the 1st century BC. Most ﬁndings
examined date from 140 to 270 AC. After that date the oil trade moved
to the coast and evenutally declined with the fall of the empire.
From the inscriptions, most of the oil was imported from Spain (Baetica),
with a minority coming from Lybia and Tunisia.


The pieces were orderly stacked to give the hill stability. Each
layer was sprayed with quicklime (cal) to neutralize
fermentation of organic residues.


The “cocci” tells a lot to historians


Most pieces in the dump are from the “round” part, the
most difﬁcult to use in other ways (e.g. construction)


Recently, excavations began to reveal the river port infrastructures
along the Tiber, the Emporium, built after the 2nd Punic War to
serve the needs of a growing Rome


This included the main wharehouse ( Horrea Galbae)
just besides Monte Testaccio


Nearby Porticus Aemilia, 460X60 meters with 50 aisles, parts of
which are still visible, was according to some another
wharehouse and to others a naval shipyard


The construction of the “mura Aureliane”, included Testaccio in the
city of Rome, but severed its link with the river Docks
(dates coincide with the end of accumulation on the hill)


For many centuries after the fall of the Empire, Testaccio, while
within the city walls, became “countryside”, home of tournaments,
carnival games and religious ceremonies (Via Crucis)

A print from 1661, showing an
empty and isolated Testaccio

Testaccio Games (1570)


In the XVIIth century “caves” started to be dug into Testaccio to
keep wine, leveraging the good thermic insulation of the clay and
the vineards that have been planted on the area


“Hosterias” made Testaccio the destination for “wine
making fest” and pic nics with high alchool rates


Many of the “caves” are now restaurants and bars, making
Testaccio one of the most popular night spots in Rome


With the 1870 city plan, Testaccio became again an “industrial”
area of Rome and homes for workers were built in a planned way


The former city abattoire now hosts the Museum
of Contemporary Art


Free riders (called in Rome “portoghesi”, see on the last page why) would go
to the top of Monte Testaccio to watch the game of AS Roma without
paying. From there you had a perfect view of the old ﬁeld where the Roma
team was born

Testaccio is still today the center of AS Roma
hard core fans


The Non Catholic Cemetery hosts many notable graves: Keats,
Shelley,Von Humbolt, Gramsci

Non catholics could not lay
on consacrated land so
began to be inhumated
outside or close to the city
walls


Testaccio is waiting!

Why “free riders” were called, in Rome and
eventually in Italy, “portugueses”?

In the XVIII Century the Ambassador of Portugal in Rome (then Vatican State) organized a
show at Teatro Argentina. To get in for free, all it was needed was to state at the door to be
a citizen of Portugal. Obviously many romans tried to pass as portuguese to avoid paying
the ticket. From that the expression “non fare il portoghese” when someone tries to sneak
into a show, party etc. without paying or being entitled.

The episode is also recalled in the portuguese book “O Barco Pescarejo” by Josè Coutinhas


Testaccio: Unexpected Rome

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