Colonna is the 3rd of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, identified by the initials R. III and located at the city's historic center in

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 ...

. It takes its name from the

Column of Marcus Aurelius The Column of Marcus Aurelius (, ) is a Roman victory column located in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. A Doric column adorned with a detailed spiral relief, it was built in honor of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled after Trajan's Colu ...

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 's main square. 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 The Pincian Hill ( ; ) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of the ancient city of Rome, and was ...

. 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 ancient Rome, in the hilly part the richest patricians had their sumptuous ''domus'', while the flat region used to belong to the ''

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for '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 covers ...

'' 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 or Horologium Augusti (both Latin for "Sundial of Augustus"; ) was a monument in the Campus Martius of ancient Rome constructed in 10 BCE under the Roman emperor Augustus. It included an Egyptian obelisk that had first been e ...

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

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

refurbished

and his family bought from the Aldobrandini family the

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

that overlooked it. The relevance of Colonna increased further in 1696, after the

Palazzo Montecitorio 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 Ci ...

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 ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

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 an area of and as of 2011 had 2,547 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 of Rome, Italy, 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 background. ...

(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 Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architect ...

; and with Ludovisi (R. XVI), with Via degli Artisti, Via di Sant'Isidoro and

Via Vittorio Veneto Via Vittorio Veneto (), colloquially called Via Veneto, is one of the most famous, elegant, and expensive streets of Rome, Italy. The street is named after the Battle of Vittorio Veneto (1918), a decisive Italian victory of World War I. Federico F ...

marking the boundary. To the east, the ''rione'' borders with

Trevi The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by col ...

(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. History The s ...

, 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 Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...

(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 *

San Lorenzo in Lucina The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina ( or simply ; ) is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome, Italy. The basilica is located in Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina in the Rione Colonna, about two blocks ...

Santa Maria in Aquiro Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated in honor of 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 ...

* San Macuto

Palaces and other buildings

Almo Collegio Capranica The Almo Collegio Capranica is the oldest Roman college, founded in 1457 by Cardinal Domenico Capranica (1400–1458) in his own palace for thirty young clerics, who received an education suitable to prepare them for the priesthood. History ...

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 Co ...

(previously called the Galleria Colonna) *

Palazzo Chigi The Chigi Palace ( ) 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. It is located in the Piazza Colonna, next to Palazzo Montecitorio, s ...

* Palazzo Gabrielli-Borromeo *

* Palazzo Wedekind *

(now the site of the Rome Stock Exchange) *

Teatro Capranica The Teatro Capranica is a theatre situated at 101 Piazza Capranica in the Colonna (rione of Rome), Colonna district of Rome. Originally constructed in 1679 by the Capranica family and housed in the early Renaissance architecture, Renaissance Palazz ...

Piazzas

* Piazza della Rotonda * Piazza di Montecitorio *

Piazza del Parlamento Palazzo Montecitorio () is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), 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 wa ...

* Piazza San Silvestro

Roads

* 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