Colonna is the 3rd ''

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. III and located at the city's historic center in Municipio I. It takes its name from the

Column of Marcus Aurelius The Column of Marcus Aurelius ( la, Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae, it, Colonna di Marco Aurelio) is a Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. It is a Doric column featuring a spiral relief: it was built in honour o ...

in the

Piazza Colonna Piazza Colonna is a piazza at the center of the Rione of Colonna in the historic heart of Rome, Italy. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius, which has stood there since AD 193. The bronze statue of Saint Paul that crowns the col ...

, the rione's main piazza. The rione's coat of arms is a now a silver column, representing the Column of Marcus Aurelius, on a red background. However, the insignia originally consisted of three azure bands against a silver background.

History

The area of the ''rione'' is split up in two parts, divided by

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

, a western flat part and an eastern hilly part, that reaches to one side of the Pincian Hill. During the short-lived Roman Republic of 1798 it also included the hill itself and was called Pincio rather than Colonna.Nicassio, Susan Vandiver (2009)
''Imperial City: Rome under Napoleon''
p. 47. University of Chicago Press. In the ancient Rome, in the hilly part the most rich patricians had their sumptuous ''domus'', while the flat region used to belong to the ''

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

'' and was studded with monuments: in addition to the Column of Marcus Aurelius, from which the ''rione'' takes its name, also the

Temple of Hadrian The Temple of Hadrian (Templum Divus Hadrianus, also Hadrianeum) is an ancient Roman structure on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the deified emperor Hadrian by his adoptive son and successor Antoninus Pius in 145 CE This templ ...

and the

Solarium Augusti The Solarium Augusti (also called Horologium Augusti) was an ancient Roman monument in the Campus Martius constructed during the reign of Augustus. It functioned as a giant solar marker, according to various interpretations serving either as a si ...

were located in the area. In the 16th century the ''rione'' experienced a remarkable development, as Pope Alexander VII refurbished

and his family bought from the Aldobrandini family the palace that overlooked it. The relevance of Colonna increased further in 1696, after the

Palazzo Montecitorio The Palazzo Montecitorio () is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament. History The palace's name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the ''Mon ...

was chosen as the headquarter of the pontifical police and as the seat of the papal courthouse and of the customs house. Following the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

and the proclamation of Rome as the capital of the new State, the northwestern part of the ''rione'' - hilly and packed with villas and parks - experienced a real "construction fever" as a huge number of new buildings were constructed to satisfy the demands related to the new role of the city. Eventually, in 1921 this area was detached from Colonna to constitute a new ''rione'', Ludovisi. Today the rione covers 0.2689 km² and as of 2011 had 2547 inhabitants.Roma Capitale - Dipartimento risorse tecnologiche - servizi delegati - statistica. Iscritti in anagrafe al 31-12-2011.

Geography

The ''rione'' borders to the north with

Campo Marzio Campo Marzio is the 4th ''rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. IV. It belongs to the Municipio I and covers a smaller section of the area of the ancient ''Campus Martius''. The logo of this rione is a silver crescent on a blue backgrou ...

(R. IV), from which is separated by Via di Campo Marzio, Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina, Via Frattina, Via dei Due Macelli, Via Capo le Case and Via Francesco Crispi; and with Ludovisi (R. XVI), with Via degli Artisti, Via di Sant'Isidoro and Via Vittorio Veneto marking the boundary. To the east, the ''rione'' borders with

Trevi The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) is a collection of justice as well as migration & home affairs policies designed to ensure security, rights and free movement within the European Union (EU). Fields covered include the harmonisati ...

(R. II), whose boundary is marked by

Piazza Barberini Piazza Barberini is a large piazza in the ''centro storico'' or city center of Rome, Italy and situated on the Quirinal Hill. It was created in the 16th century but many of the surrounding buildings have subsequently been rebuilt. The current ...

, Via del Tritone, Via del Nazareno, Largo del Nazareno, Via del Bufalo, Via del Pozzetto, Largo San Claudio, Via di Santa Maria in Via, Via delle Muratte and

. Southward, Colonna borders with Pigna (R. IX), which is separated by Via del Caravita, Piazza di Sant'Ignazio, Via del Seminario and Piazza della Rotonda. Westward, the ''rione'' borders with

Sant'Eustachio Sant'Eustachio is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheon and via della Rotonda, and a ...

(R. VIII), whose boundary is defined by Piazza della Rotonda, Via del Pantheon, Piazza della Maddalena and Via della Maddalena.

Places of interest

Churches

Sant'Andrea delle Fratte Sant'Andrea delle Fratte ("Saint Andrew of the Thickets") is a 17th-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the ''Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis'' is Ennio Antonelli. History The current c ...

* San Lorenzo in Lucina *

Santa Maria in Aquiro Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located on Piazza Capranica. The church is ancient – it was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century, and thus must have existed before ...

* San Macuto

Palaces and other buildings

* Almo Collegio Capranica *

Galleria Alberto Sordi Galleria Alberto Sordi, until 2003 Galleria Colonna, is a shopping arcade in Rome, Italy named after the actor Alberto Sordi. It was designed in the early 1900s by the architect Dario Carbone and constructed on the Via del Corso as Galleria ...

(previously called the Galleria Colonna) *

Palazzo Chigi The Chigi Palace ( it, Palazzo Chigi ) is a palace and former noble residence in Rome which is the seat of the Council of Ministers and the official residence of the Prime Minister of Italy. Since 22 October 2022, the tenant of the Chigi Palace h ...

* Palazzo Gabrielli-Borromeo *

Palazzo Wedekind Palazzo Wedekind is a palazzo in Piazza Colonna in Rome, Italy, located next to the church of Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi. It is notable as the historic offices of the daily paper ''Il Tempo''. History On a site occupied in a ...

(now the site of the Rome Stock Exchange) * Teatro Capranica

Piazzas

Piazza della Rotonda The Piazza della Rotonda is a piazza ( city square) in Rome, Italy, on the south side of which is located the Pantheon. The square gets its name from the Pantheon's informal title as the church of ''Santa Maria Rotonda''. History Although the ...

* Piazza di Montecitorio *

Piazza del Parlamento The Palazzo Montecitorio () is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament. History The palace's name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the ''Mons ...

Roads

* Via Vittorio Veneto * Via Frattina * Via Sistina

References

External links

History and maps of the rione
* {{coord, 41, 50, N, 12, 45, E, region:IT_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Rioni of Rome