Rione Sant' Angelo

Rione XI Sant' Angelo

Rione Sant'Angelo was named after the church of S. Angelo in Pescheria. It was the smallest Rione in terms of size, but not in terms of population especially after the decree issued by pope Paulus IV in 1555, which forced the Jews of Rome to live in a segregated area in the southern part of Rione S. Angelo. It borders to the west on Regola and Sant'Eustachio, to the north on Pigna, to the east on Campitelli and Ripa and to the south on the Tiber (the long row of houses on the river was shown by Giuseppe Vasi in Plate 91).
For a map of the Roman quarters (Rioni) click here.

Coat of arms of Rione Sant'Angelo
The ancient symbol of Rione Sant'Angelo was a fish with reference to the fish market (pescheria) which once existed under the arches of Portico d'Ottavia. However, the XVIIIth century tablets which mark the borders of the Rione show a nobler symbol, an angel with a sword and a balance, which while being a visual translation of the name of the rione, would have been more appropriate for identifying Rione Borgo or Rione Ponte, both dominated by massive Castel Sant'Angelo.
Of its ancient past Rione Sant'Angelo retains Teatro di Marcello and Portico d'Ottavia; Via delle Botteghe Oscure at the northern edge of the rione marks one side of Circus Flaminius. Columns and reliefs can be seen in many buildings (Casa di Lorenzo Manilio, Tor Margana, Palazzo Patrizi, etc..). The majority of the monuments of the Rione belong to the XVIth century or to the first years of the following century.

1777 Map of Rione Sant' Angelo
Legend of the numbers in the map:
1) Palazzo Costaguti
2) Palazzo Boccapaduli
3) Piazza Giudia

Main monuments of Rione S. Angelo and the five gates of the Ghetto

The red X mark the main changes which occurred after 1777:
a) top left corner: the old church of Santi Sebastiano and Valentino and its little square were replaced in the XIXth century by a large building;
b) lower part of the map: the whole Jewish ghetto was demolished in 1888 and it was replaced by modern buildings. The ghetto was subject to frequent floods so in 1888 the level of the ground was significantly raised. A new Tempio Maggiore, the main synagogue, was built with a dome which soon became one of the best known Domes of Rome.
The different colours group the monuments which are shown in the same page.

An inscription immediately outside the Ghetto stating the level reached by the Tiber during the 1598 flood;
Roman decorations walled in a house of Rione S. Angelo; the Dome of the main Synagogue

Name (key) Colour Notes

Chiesa di San Stanislao dei Polacchi -

Palazzo Caetani -

Chiesa di Santa Caterina de' Funari -

Chiesa dei Santi Sebastiano e Valentino Lost

Palazzo Mattei di Giove -

Palazzo di Giacomo Mattei -

Palazzo Mattei Paganica -

Palazzo Costaguti -

Palazzo Patrizi -

- Fontana delle Tartarughe -

- Tor Margana With monuments of Campitelli.

Palazzo Boccapaduli -

Palazzo Santacroce -

Palazzo Paluzzi Serlupi Lovatelli With monuments of Campitelli.

- Piazza Giudia -

Casa di Lorenzo Manilio -

Tempietto del Carmelo -

Chiesa di Sant' Angelo in Pescheria -

Chiesa di Sant' Ambrogio alla Massima -

Casa dei Fabi -

Casa dei Vailati -

- Albergo della Catena -

- Teatro di Marcello With monuments of Campitelli.

You can start your tour of Rione Sant'Angelo from San Stanislao dei Polacchi.
You can also have a look at it from the Janiculum.

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

Go to or to The Coats of Arms of the Popes or to My Home Page on Baroque Rome or to My Home Page on Rome in the footsteps of an XVIIIth century traveller