Testaccio

Description:

• Originally this district was not all that prestigious, as it was a rubbish dump for amphorae that were shattered into fragments called 'Testae'. Testaccio still has a provincial atmosphere, and one feels that everybody knows each other. When walking over Sublicio bridge, you should remember that its predecessor, made of wooden boards, was built by order of Ancus Marcius, and it was the bridge on which Horatius Cocles fought the Etruscans. Everybody here is fond of Piazza Testaccio, used as a fruit and vegetable market and full of colour and life. The shops surrounding the square are still called by the names of the original owners, even though they may have passed on many years ago, and all this makes this market one of the most enjoyable in Rome.
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