The "Rioni" of Rome

The "Rioni" of Rome

The districts of Rome were defined in a precise manner in 1743 by Benedictus IV. The area inside the walls was divided into 14 districts called Rioni. One of the criteria followed in the definition of the districts was to have an even distribution of the population, at the time grouped near the river. This explains why the area of the rioni is so different.

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The 14 rioni of Rome on a late XIXth century map
Legend:

I - Monti
II - Trevi
III - Colonna
IV - Campo Marzio
V - Ponte
VI - Parione
VII - Regola
VIII - Sant'Eustachio
IX - Pigna
X - Campitelli
XI - Sant'Angelo
XII - Ripa
XIII - Trastevere
XIV - Borgo
The rioni were identified by inscriptions put at the border between two rioni: they always come in a pair on both sides of a street. When there is only one inscription then the building on the opposite side of the street is modern. The frames of the inscriptions follow an Ancient Rome pattern. In addition to the number and the name, the rioni were identified by a symbol, a sort of coat of arms.

The decision to divide Rome into fourteen quarters was in part suggested by the fact that also Ancient Rome was divided into fourteen regiones (hence rioni); thus Rome was also called Urbs regionum quatuordecim.

Approximate borders of the Regions (in red) of Ancient Rome
The division of Ancient Rome into fourteen regiones was introduced by Augustus to provide Rome with a new administrative structure which could meet the requirements of a very large city. The regiones were not limited by the walls which were built nearly 300 years later and they were only known by their number (as we still do for the arrondissements of Paris), but over time they were referred to by mentioning a monument or a hill included in the region.
The table below provides an approximate relationship between the modern (in blue) and the ancient (in red) division of Rome.

It shows how the most populated areas of Ancient Rome (on the hills) were abandoned in favour of locations close to the river.
For this reason three modern rioni (Monti, Campitelli, Ripa) covered the same area of 10 ancient regiones, while a single regio (Circus Flaminius) was in the XVIIIth century divided into more than 6 rioni.

Rione Corresponding to Romana Regio Corresponding to

I-Monti II-Caelimontium
III-Isis et Serapis
IV-Templum Pacis
V-Esquiliae
VI-Alta Semita (in part) I-Porta Capena X-Campitelli (in part)

II-Trevi VI-Alta Semita (in part)
VII-Via Lata (in part) II-Caelimontium I-Monti (in part)

III-Colonna VI-Alta Semita (in part)
VII-Via Lata (in part)
IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) III-Isis et Serapis I-Monti (in part)

IV-Campo Marzio VII-Via Lata (in part)
IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) IV-Templum Pacis I-Monti (in part)

V-Ponte IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) V-Esquiliae I-Monti (in part)

VI-Parione IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) VI-Alta Semita I-Monti (in part)
II-Trevi (in part)
III-Colonna (in part)

VII-Regola IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) VII-Via Lata II-Trevi (in part)
III-Colonna (in part)
IV-Campo Marzio (in part)

VIII-Sant'Eustachio IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) VIII-Forum Romanum X-Campitelli (in part)

IX-Pigna IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) IX-Circus Flaminius II-Trevi (in part)
III-Colonna (in part)
IV-Campo Marzio (in part)
V-Ponte
VI-Parione
VII-Regola
VIII-Sant'Eustachio
IX- Pigna
XI-Sant'Angelo

X-Campitelli I-Porta Capena
VIII-Forum Romanum
X-Palatium X-Palatium X-Campitelli (in part)

XI-Sant'Angelo IX-Circus Flaminius (in part) XI-Circus Maximus XII-Ripa (in part)

XII-Ripa XI-Circus Maximus
XII-Piscina Publica
XIII-Aventinus XII-Piscina Publica XII-Ripa (in part)

XIII-Trastevere XIV-Transtiberim XIII-Aventinus XII-Ripa (in part)

XIV-Borgo Outside the walls of Ancient Rome XIV-Transtiberim XIII-Trastevere

In 1921 the rioni were increased from 14 to 22:
I-Monti was divided into 3 rioni (Monti, Esquilino, Castro Pretorio);
II-Colonna was divided into 2 rioni (Colonna and Ludovisi);
III-Trevi was divided into 2 rioni (Trevi and Sallustiano);
X-Campitelli was divided into 2 rioni (Campitelli and Celio);
XII-Ripa was divided into 3 rioni (Ripa, Testaccio, San Saba);
the area north of Porta Castello became a new rione: Prati.
Today (2004) Rome is divided into 20 municipalities: the first one includes all the historical rioni, with the exception of Borgo.

You can now start your tour of the Rioni.

I - Monti II - Trevi

III - Colonna IV - Campo Marzio

V - Ponte VI - Parione

VII - Regola VIII - Sant'Eustachio

IX - Pigna X - Campitelli

XI - Sant'Angelo XII - Ripa

XIII - Trastevere XIV - Borgo

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