Celio () is the 19th ''

rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

'' of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, identified by the initials R. XIX, and is located within the

Municipio I Municipio I is an administrative subdivision of the municipality of Rome, encompassing the centre of the city. It was first created by Rome's city council on 19 January 2001 and has a president who is elected during the mayoral elections. On 11 ...

. Its coat of arms depicts the bust of an

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

, with an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

headdress with golden tusks on a silver background, in memory of an African bust that was found in Via Capo d'Africa.

History

Up to 1870, the area was moderately inhabited, with some major religious building and many archaeological remains appearing in the vast filed and vineyards. Following to the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

, the district was among the first to be urbanized, between 1872 and 1873, with new service buildings and residences for the newcomers. Particularly, a military hospital was built on the summit of the Caelian hill between 1885 and 1891, close to the medieval site of Santo Stefano in Formis, an ancient monastery with an annexed hospital. Up until the postwar period, the road scheme has been reworked in the lower part of the ''rione'', near the

Colosseo The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

, and in 1968 a big public housing complex, that was located among Piazza Celimontana, Via Claudia, Via Annia and Via dei Simmachi, was demolished: the plot, facing the military hospital, is now a public park (Parco della

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

Geography

The ''rione'' was established in 1921, detaching portions of land from Monti and

Campitelli Campitelli is the 10th ''rioni of Rome, rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. X, and is located in the Municipio I. Its emblem consists of a black dragon's head on a white background. This symbol comes from the legend that Pope Silvest ...

. It is moderately inhabited and scarcely congested, and can be considered a working-class borough, if compared with more central ''rioni''. However, the ''rione'' is dense with hotels and B&Bs for tourists, because of its position, very close to the

Boundaries

Northward, Celio borders with Monti (R. I), from which is separated by Piazza del

, Via di San Giovanni in Laterano, Via di Santo Stefano Rotondo, Via della Navicella and Piazza di Porta Metronia. Eastward, it borders with ''

Quartiere A (; plural: ) is a territorial subdivision of certain Italian towns. The word derives from (‘fourth’) and was thus properly used only for towns divided into four neighborhoods by the two main roads. It has been later used as a synonymous ...

Appio-Latino Appio-Latino is the 9th ''quartiere'' of Rome (Italy), identified by the initials Q. IX. The name derives from the ancient roads Via Appia and Via Latina. It belongs to the Municipio VII and Municipio VIII. History The origins of the territo ...

(Q. IX), whose boundary is defined by the stretch of the Aurelian Walls between Porta Metronia and Porta San Sebastiano. To the south, it borders with San Saba (R. XXI), from which is separated by Via di Porta San Sebastiano, Piazzale

Numa Pompilio Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are ...

, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Via di Valle delle Camene. Westward, Celio shares a short border with Ripa (R. XII), marked by Piazza di

Porta Capena Porta Capena was a gate in the Servian Wall in Rome, Italy. The gate was located in the area of Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian Hill, Caelian, Palatine Hill, Palatine and Aventine Hill, Aventine hills meet. Probably its exact position ...

. It also borders with

(R. X), whose boundary is marked by Via di San Gregorio and Piazza del Colosseo.

Places of interest

Archaeological sites

Arch of Constantine The Arch of Constantine ( it, Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milv ...

Arch of Dolabella The Arch of Dolabella and Silanus (Latin, ''Arcus Dolabellae et Silani'') or Arch of Dolabella is an ancient Roman arch. It was built by senatorial decree in 10 AD by the consuls P. Cornelius Dolabella and C. Junius Silanus. Arch The arch i ...

Ludus Magnus The Ludus Magnus (also known as the Great Gladiatorial Training School) was the largest of the gladiatorial schools in Rome. It was built by the emperor Domitian (r. 81–96 C.E.) in the late first century C.E., alongside other building projects u ...

Villa Celimontana The Villa Celimontana (previously known as Villa Mattei) is a villa on the Caelian Hill in Rome, best known for its gardens. Its grounds cover most of the valley between the Aventine Hill and the Caelian. Location The Villa Celimontana is situat ...

Churches

San Giovanni a Porta Latina San Giovanni a Porta Latina (Italian: "Saint John Before the Latin Gate") is a Basilica church in Rome, Italy, near the Porta Latina (on the Via Latina) of the Aurelian Wall. History According to Tertullian, as quoted by Saint Jerome, in the y ...

San Giovanni in Oleo San Giovanni in Oleo is a chapel adjacent to the church of San Giovanni a Porta Latina in Rome. It commemorates the place where, according to legend, in 92 CE, at the hands of the emperor Domitian, the apostle John was immersed in a vat of boiling ...

San Gregorio Magno al Celio San Gregorio Magno al Celio, also known as San Gregorio al Celio or simply San Gregorio, is a church in Rome, Italy, which is part of a monastery of monks of the Camaldolese branch of the Benedictine Order. On 10 March 2012, the 1,000th annive ...

Santa Maria in Domnica The Minor Basilica of St. Mary in Domnica alla Navicella (Basilica Minore di Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella), or simply Santa Maria in Domnica or Santa Maria alla Navicella, is a Roman Catholic basilica in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the Bless ...

(Santa Maria alla Navicella) *

Santo Stefano Rotondo The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill ( it, Basilica di Santo Stefano al Monte Celio, la, Basilica S. Stephani in Caelio Monte) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, ...

* Santi Giovanni e Paolo *

Santi Quattro Coronati Santi Quattro Coronati is an ancient basilica in Rome, Italy. The church dates back to the fourth or fifth century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. The complex of the basilica with its two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal P ...

Other

* Fontana della Navicella

External links

{{coord, 41.881799, N, 12.495317, E, source:itwiki_region:IT_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title 01 Rioni of Rome