  Rione III Colonna
Rione Colonna was named after the column erected in honour of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, commonly called Colonna Antonina.
It borders to the north on Campo Marzio and the walls of Rome,
to the east on Trevi, to the south on Pigna and to the west on Sant' Eustachio.
The symbol of Rione Colonna is quite obviously Colonna Antonina. Rione Colonna is composed of two very different areas, one in the plain of Campo Marzio, the other on a hilly area next to the walls. The area in the plain was the location of several Roman monuments: Tempio di Nettuno in Piazza di Pietra, the already mentioned Colonna Antonina, Horologium Divi Augusti, a gigantic sundial which indicated the hours of the day and the days of the year and a Column dedicated to the emperor Antoninus Pius: all these monuments still exist at least in part. The area on the hills was mainly used for large villas (Horti Sallustiani) and this utilization continued through the centuries until 1885 when Villa Ludovisi was sold and the area became a very elegant quarter of Rome.
1) Entrance of Villa Ludovisi 2) Casino dell'Aurora 3) Convento dei Cappuccini 4) S. Ildefonso e Tommaso di Villanova 5) Villa Albani 6) S. Giuseppe a Capo le Case 7) S. Maria di Costantinopoli 8) Palazzo De Angelis 9) Collegio Nazzareno 10) Palazzo Bernini 11) Convento di S. Silvestro in Capite 12) Chiesa di S. Silvestro in Capite 13) Palazzo Theodoli 14) Palazzo Chigi 15) S. Bartolomeo dei Bergamaschi 16) Piazza di Pietra 17) Seminario Romano 18) S. Maria in Aquiro 19) S. Maria Maddalena 20) Casa dei Preti della Missione 21) Palazzo di Fiano 22) Collegio di Propaganda Fide The development of Rione Colonna is due to the initiatives of Alexander VII Chigi (1655-67). In 1659 his family bought Palazzo Aldobrandini now Chigi and cleared Piazza Colonna of some small buildings giving to it its current form. In 1662 the pope enlarged Via del Corso by pulling down the so called Arco di Portogallo. He had already embellished Piazza del Popolo and by this changes he gave to the section of Via del Corso between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Colonna the same prestige the lower section of Via del Corso already had. His successors by building Palazzo di Montecitorio where all the tribunals were located increased the importance of Rione Colonna. Today it is considered the centre of Rome in part because Palazzo di Montecitorio hosts one of the two Chambers of the Italian Parliament and Palazzo Chigi is the residence of the Prime Minister.
madonnella in Via Mario dei Fiori, fountain in the courtyard of a building near Chiesa di S. Giuseppe 
Main monuments of Rione Colonna The red X mark the main changes which occurred after 1777: a) X above the building coloured in blue: in 1908-18 the area behind Palazzo di Montecitorio was largely modified to expand the palace and provide it with the facilities needed by its use as Lower Chamber; b) two X linked by a line: the central section of Via del Corso was enlarged in the 1890s by pulling down the buildings on its eastern side; c) X near the building coloured in green: the two squares of San Silvestro in Capite and SS. Andrea e Claudio dei Borgognoni (Rione Trevi) were merged into a larger square; d) far right: in the 1880s Villa Ludovisi was sold and split into small parcels. It became one of the most elegant quarters of Rome.
The different colours group the monuments which are shown in the same page. You can also have a look at it from the Janiculum: Piazza Navona.
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All images © 1999 - 2004 by Roberto Piperno. Write to romapip@quipo.it