Monti

Rome -- medieval

Praelocutio

Monti is the name of one of the thirteen Rioni of Rome, rione I. The name literally means mountains in Italian and comes from the fact that the Esquiline and the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal and the Caelian Hills belonged to this rione. Its logo consists of three green mountains with three tops on a silver background.

Historia

In ancient times the rione was densely populated: in Monti there were the Forum Romanum and the so-called Suburra: this was the place poor people lived, full of disreputable locals and brothels.

In the Middle Ages the situation was completely different: the Roman aqueducts were damaged, and it was very difficult to bring water to Monti since it was on the hills. Hence many inhabitants moved to Campus Martius, a lower level part, where they could drink the water from the river Tiber.

From the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century, the rione remained an area full of vineyards and market gardens. Monti was not densely populated because of the lack of water and because it was quite far from the Vatican, the center of Christian culture. The area did not become abandoned thanks to the church of San Giovanni in Laterano and the constant high number of pilgrims.

Still in the Middle Ages the inhabitants of Monti, called monticiani, developed a strong identity: their Roman dialect was different from that spoken in the other rioni. Their main enemies were the people from the other rione with a strong identity, Trastevere, and they often used to fight with one another.