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The word rione (pl. rioni) comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 regio (pl. regiones, meaning region); during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 the Latin word became rejones, from which rione. The word has been used since the Middle Ages to name the districts of central Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, according to the political divisions of that time.

rioni were established for the first time in the 4th century BC by Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius

Servius Tullius was the sixth legendary Roman king of ancient Rome and the second king of the Etruria dynasty. The traditional dates of his reign are 578-535 BC....
: they were only four and they were called regiones (the plural of regio).

Then, during the Imperial ages, Augustus increased their number to 14: all but Transtiberim (the modern Trastevere
Trastevere

Trastevere is Rioni of Rome XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber"....
) were on the east side of the river Tiber
Tiber

The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing 406 kilometres through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea....
.






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Roma Rioni Mappa
The word rione (pl. rioni) comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 regio (pl. regiones, meaning region); during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 the Latin word became rejones, from which rione. The word has been used since the Middle Ages to name the districts of central Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, according to the political divisions of that time.

Ancient Rome

The rioni were established for the first time in the 4th century BC by Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius

Servius Tullius was the sixth legendary Roman king of ancient Rome and the second king of the Etruria dynasty. The traditional dates of his reign are 578-535 BC....
: they were only four and they were called regiones (the plural of regio).

Then, during the Imperial ages, Augustus increased their number to 14: all but Transtiberim (the modern Trastevere
Trastevere

Trastevere is Rioni of Rome XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber"....
) were on the east side of the river Tiber
Tiber

The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing 406 kilometres through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea....
. They were (see 14 regions of the Augustan Rome):

  1. Porta Capena
  2. Caelimontium
  3. Isis et Serapis
  4. Templum Pacis
  5. Esquiliae
  6. Alta Semita
  7. Via Lata
  8. Forum Romanum
  9. Circus Flaminius
  10. Palatium
  11. Circus Maximus
  12. Piscina Publica
  13. Aventinus
  14. Transtiberim


The Middle Ages

After the fall of the Roman empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 and the decline of Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 as a cultural center, the population decreased and the political division in rioni was lost. During the 12th century a division in 12 parts started being used, but it had not been decided by the leaders but simply by the common use of the people. Even if the areas were different from the ancient ones, they still used the same name: regio in Latin and rioni in vulgar language.

The limits of the rioni became more definitive and official in the 13th century: their number increased to 13 and it remained like this until the 16th century. In this period, anyway, the limits were quite uncertain: The buildings were concentrated close to the center of each rione, so the areas on the edges were almost deserted, thus it was not really necessary to define the limits exactly.

The Modern ages

During the Renaissance
Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
 there was a deep reorganization of the city. A lot of buildings, streets and fountains were built within the Aurelian walls
Aurelian Walls

The Aurelian Walls were city walls built between 271 and 275 in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Probus. They enclosed all seven hills of Rome plus the Campus Martius and, on the right bank of the Tiber, the Trastevere district....
, so it became necessary to limit the rioni exactly.

In 1586 Sixtus V broke the tradition of 13 rioni adding another one: Borgo
Borgo (rione of Rome)

Borgo , is the 14th historic district of Rome. It lies on the west bank of the Tiber, and has a trapezoidal shape. Its Coat of Arms shows a lion , lying in front of three mounts and a star....
. This change created a balanced situation that, thanks to the small increase of the population, remained the same until the XIX century.

In 1744 Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV

Pope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758....
, because of frequent misunderstanding, decided to replan the political division of Rome, giving the responsibility of it to Count Bernardini, who was so good at it that his division did not change much until 1921. During this period the strong feelings of belonging to one rione or another were born, even if they have much older roots.

In 1798 there was a rationalization of the politic division creating 12 rioni (in brackets there is the modern one they correspond to):

  1. Terme (part of Monti
    Monti (rione of Rome)

    Monti is the name of one of the twelve Rioni of Rome, rione I; the name literally means mountains in Italian. The name comes from the fact that the Esquiline Hill and the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal Hill and the Caelian Hills belong to this rione....
    );
  2. Suburra (part of Monti
    Monti (rione of Rome)

    Monti is the name of one of the twelve Rioni of Rome, rione I; the name literally means mountains in Italian. The name comes from the fact that the Esquiline Hill and the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal Hill and the Caelian Hills belong to this rione....
    );
  3. Quirinale (Trevi
    Trevi (rione of Rome)

    Trevi is the Rioni of Rome II of Rome. The origin of its name is not clear, yet,but the most accepted possibility is that it comes from the Latin trivium...
    );
  4. Pincio (Colonna
    Colonna (rione of Rome)

    Colonna is the III rioni of Rome. Its logo is a silver column on a red background.External links...
    );
  5. Marte (Campo Marzio
    Campo Marzio

    Campo Marzio, is the IV Rioni of Rome of Rome, which covers a smaller section of the area of the ancient Campus Martius. The logo of today's rione is a silver crescent on a blue background....
    );
  6. Bruto (Ponte
    Ponte (rione of Rome)

    Ponte is the fifth Rioni of Rome of Rome. Its name comes after Ponte Sant'Angelo, which connects Ponte with the rione of Borgo . This Bridge was built by Emperor Adrianus to connect his Castel Sant'Angelo to the rest of the city....
    );
  7. Pompeo (Regola
    Regola (rione of Rome)

    Regola is the VII rioni of Rome. The name comes from Arenula, that was the name of the soft sand that the river Tiber left after the floods, and which built strands on the left bank....
     and Parione
    Parione

    Parione is the VI Rioni of Rome of Rome.Its name comes from the fact that in the area there was a huge ancient wall, maybe belonging to the Piazza Navona; the nickname people gave to this wall was Parietone , from which the name "Parione"....
    );
  8. Flaminio (Sant'Eustachio
    Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome)

    Sant'Eustachio is the VIII rioni of Rome. Its logo is made of the head of a deer and of the bust of Jesus: the figures are golden on a red background....
    );
  9. Pantheon
    Pantheon, Rome

    The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt circa 126 AD during Hadrian's reign....
     (Pigna
    Pigna (rione of Rome)

    Pigna is the name of rioni of Rome IX of Rome. The name means "pine cone" in Italian language, and the symbol for the rione is the colossal bronze Conifer cone, the Pigna, which decorated a fountain in Ancient Rome next to a vast Temple of Isis....
     and Sant'Angelo
    Sant'Angelo (rione of Rome)

    Sant'Angelo is the eleventh historic district or rioni of Rome of Rome, often written as rione XI - Sant'Angelo. Its coat of arms is an angel on a red background, holding a palm branch in its left hand....
    );
  10. Campidoglio (Campitelli
    Campitelli

    Campitelli is the X rioni of Rome. In the logo there is the black head of a dragon on a white background. This symbol comes from the legend that Pope Silvester I threw out a dragon staying in the Forum Romanum....
     e Ripa
    Ripa (rione of Rome)

    Ripa is the XII rioni of Rome. The logo is a white rudder on a red background, to remind the port of Ripa Grande, placed in Trastevere, but facing the rione....
    );
  11. Gianicolo (Trastevere
    Trastevere

    Trastevere is Rioni of Rome XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber"....
    );
  12. Vaticano
    Vatican City

    Vatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a Landlocked country sovereignty city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the Capital of Italy....
     (Borgo
    Borgo (rione of Rome)

    Borgo , is the 14th historic district of Rome. It lies on the west bank of the Tiber, and has a trapezoidal shape. Its Coat of Arms shows a lion , lying in front of three mounts and a star....
    );


Soon after this, during the domination of Napoleon, Rome was split up in 8 parts, now called Giustizie (meaning "justices" in Italian):

  1. Monti
    Monti (rione of Rome)

    Monti is the name of one of the twelve Rioni of Rome, rione I; the name literally means mountains in Italian. The name comes from the fact that the Esquiline Hill and the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal Hill and the Caelian Hills belong to this rione....
    ;
  2. Trevi
    Trevi (rione of Rome)

    Trevi is the Rioni of Rome II of Rome. The origin of its name is not clear, yet,but the most accepted possibility is that it comes from the Latin trivium...
    ;
  3. Colonna
    Colonna (rione of Rome)

    Colonna is the III rioni of Rome. Its logo is a silver column on a red background.External links...
     e Campo Marzio
    Campo Marzio

    Campo Marzio, is the IV Rioni of Rome of Rome, which covers a smaller section of the area of the ancient Campus Martius. The logo of today's rione is a silver crescent on a blue background....
    ;
  4. Ponte
    Ponte (rione of Rome)

    Ponte is the fifth Rioni of Rome of Rome. Its name comes after Ponte Sant'Angelo, which connects Ponte with the rione of Borgo . This Bridge was built by Emperor Adrianus to connect his Castel Sant'Angelo to the rest of the city....
     e Borgo
    Borgo (rione of Rome)

    Borgo , is the 14th historic district of Rome. It lies on the west bank of the Tiber, and has a trapezoidal shape. Its Coat of Arms shows a lion , lying in front of three mounts and a star....
    ;
  5. Parione
    Parione

    Parione is the VI Rioni of Rome of Rome.Its name comes from the fact that in the area there was a huge ancient wall, maybe belonging to the Piazza Navona; the nickname people gave to this wall was Parietone , from which the name "Parione"....
     e Regola
    Regola (rione of Rome)

    Regola is the VII rioni of Rome. The name comes from Arenula, that was the name of the soft sand that the river Tiber left after the floods, and which built strands on the left bank....
    ;
  6. Sant'Eustachio
    Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome)

    Sant'Eustachio is the VIII rioni of Rome. Its logo is made of the head of a deer and of the bust of Jesus: the figures are golden on a red background....
     e Pigna
    Pigna (rione of Rome)

    Pigna is the name of rioni of Rome IX of Rome. The name means "pine cone" in Italian language, and the symbol for the rione is the colossal bronze Conifer cone, the Pigna, which decorated a fountain in Ancient Rome next to a vast Temple of Isis....
    ;
  7. Campitelli
    Campitelli

    Campitelli is the X rioni of Rome. In the logo there is the black head of a dragon on a white background. This symbol comes from the legend that Pope Silvester I threw out a dragon staying in the Forum Romanum....
    , Sant'Angelo
    Sant'Angelo (rione of Rome)

    Sant'Angelo is the eleventh historic district or rioni of Rome of Rome, often written as rione XI - Sant'Angelo. Its coat of arms is an angel on a red background, holding a palm branch in its left hand....
     e Ripa
    Ripa (rione of Rome)

    Ripa is the XII rioni of Rome. The logo is a white rudder on a red background, to remind the port of Ripa Grande, placed in Trastevere, but facing the rione....
    );
  8. Trastevere
    Trastevere

    Trastevere is Rioni of Rome XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber"....
    .


So the smaller rioni were joint to the greater ones. In this occasion the French affixed in each street a sign with its name and the areas it belonged to: for the first time there was no ambiguity about the limits of the rioni.

Today

Even after Napoleon lost his power, there were no sensible changes in the organization of the city, until Rome became the capital of the new born Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. The needs of the new capital caused a great urbanization and an increase of the population, both within the Aurelian walls
Aurelian Walls

The Aurelian Walls were city walls built between 271 and 275 in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Probus. They enclosed all seven hills of Rome plus the Campus Martius and, on the right bank of the Tiber, the Trastevere district....
 and outside them. In 1874 the rioni became 15 adding Esquilino
Esquilino (rione of Rome)

Esquilino is the XV rioni of Rome of Rome. Its coat of arms bears two figures: a tree and three green mountains, all on a silver background. It is named for the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome....
, obtained taking a part from Monti
Monti (rione of Rome)

Monti is the name of one of the twelve Rioni of Rome, rione I; the name literally means mountains in Italian. The name comes from the fact that the Esquiline Hill and the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal Hill and the Caelian Hills belong to this rione....
. At the beginning of the 20th century some rioni started being split up and the first parts outside the Aurelian walls
Aurelian Walls

The Aurelian Walls were city walls built between 271 and 275 in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Probus. They enclosed all seven hills of Rome plus the Campus Martius and, on the right bank of the Tiber, the Trastevere district....
 started being considered part of the city.

In 1921 the number of the rioni increased to 22. Prati
Prati (rione of Rome)

Prati is the XXII rioni of Rome. Its logo is the shape of Castel Sant'Angelo, in a blue color on a silver background. Hadrian's mausoleum was not in this area, but in the Borgo , bordering Prati to the south....
 was the last rione to be established and the only one outside the Aurelian walls
Aurelian Walls

The Aurelian Walls were city walls built between 271 and 275 in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Probus. They enclosed all seven hills of Rome plus the Campus Martius and, on the right bank of the Tiber, the Trastevere district....
.

The latest reform, which is still mostly valid, was made in 1972: Rome was divided in 20 circoscrizioni (later renamed municipi, one of which has since become an independent municipality) and all the 22 rioni (thus the historical center) were placed in the first one, Municipio I.

The complete list of the modern rioni, in order of number, is the following:

  1. Monti
    Monti (rione of Rome)

    Monti is the name of one of the twelve Rioni of Rome, rione I; the name literally means mountains in Italian. The name comes from the fact that the Esquiline Hill and the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal Hill and the Caelian Hills belong to this rione....
  2. Trevi
    Trevi (rione of Rome)

    Trevi is the Rioni of Rome II of Rome. The origin of its name is not clear, yet,but the most accepted possibility is that it comes from the Latin trivium...
  3. Colonna
    Colonna (rione of Rome)

    Colonna is the III rioni of Rome. Its logo is a silver column on a red background.External links...
  4. Campo Marzio
    Campus Martius

    The Campus Martius , was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 km? in extent. In the Middle Ages it was the most populous area of Rome....
  5. Ponte
    Ponte (rione of Rome)

    Ponte is the fifth Rioni of Rome of Rome. Its name comes after Ponte Sant'Angelo, which connects Ponte with the rione of Borgo . This Bridge was built by Emperor Adrianus to connect his Castel Sant'Angelo to the rest of the city....
  6. Parione
    Parione

    Parione is the VI Rioni of Rome of Rome.Its name comes from the fact that in the area there was a huge ancient wall, maybe belonging to the Piazza Navona; the nickname people gave to this wall was Parietone , from which the name "Parione"....
  7. Regola
    Regola (rione of Rome)

    Regola is the VII rioni of Rome. The name comes from Arenula, that was the name of the soft sand that the river Tiber left after the floods, and which built strands on the left bank....
  8. Sant'Eustachio
    Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome)

    Sant'Eustachio is the VIII rioni of Rome. Its logo is made of the head of a deer and of the bust of Jesus: the figures are golden on a red background....
  9. Pigna
    Pigna (rione of Rome)

    Pigna is the name of rioni of Rome IX of Rome. The name means "pine cone" in Italian language, and the symbol for the rione is the colossal bronze Conifer cone, the Pigna, which decorated a fountain in Ancient Rome next to a vast Temple of Isis....
  10. Campitelli
    Campitelli

    Campitelli is the X rioni of Rome. In the logo there is the black head of a dragon on a white background. This symbol comes from the legend that Pope Silvester I threw out a dragon staying in the Forum Romanum....
  11. Sant'Angelo
    Sant'Angelo (rione of Rome)

    Sant'Angelo is the eleventh historic district or rioni of Rome of Rome, often written as rione XI - Sant'Angelo. Its coat of arms is an angel on a red background, holding a palm branch in its left hand....
  12. Ripa
    Ripa (rione of Rome)

    Ripa is the XII rioni of Rome. The logo is a white rudder on a red background, to remind the port of Ripa Grande, placed in Trastevere, but facing the rione....
  13. Trastevere
    Trastevere

    Trastevere is Rioni of Rome XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber"....
  14. Borgo
    Borgo (rione of Rome)

    Borgo , is the 14th historic district of Rome. It lies on the west bank of the Tiber, and has a trapezoidal shape. Its Coat of Arms shows a lion , lying in front of three mounts and a star....
  15. Esquilino
    Esquilino (rione of Rome)

    Esquilino is the XV rioni of Rome of Rome. Its coat of arms bears two figures: a tree and three green mountains, all on a silver background. It is named for the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome....
  16. Ludovisi
    Ludovisi

    Ludovisi can refer to:*Ludovisi , a noble Italian family*Ludovisi , an historic district of Rome, built at the end of nineteenth century on the gardens of the Villa Ludovisi of the Ludovisi family...
  17. Sallustiano
    Sallustiano

    Sallustiano is the XVII rioni of Rome....
  18. Castro Pretorio
    Castro Pretorio

    Castro Pretorio is the XVIII rioni of Rome. The logo is the golden banner of the Praetorian Guard on a red background. The rione takes its name by the ruins of the Castrum Praetorium, the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, included in the Aurelian Walls....
  19. Celio
    Celio (rione of Rome)

    Celio is the XIXth rioni of Rome. Its logo is the bust of an African, with an elephant headdress with golden tusks on a silver background, in memory of an African bust that was found in via Capo d'Africa....
  20. Testaccio
    Testaccio

    Testaccio is the 20th rioni of Rome, deriving its name from Monte Testaccio. In antiquity, much of the Tiber River trade took place here, and the remains of broken clay vessels were stacked creating the artificial Testaccio hill, which today is a source of much archeological evidence as to the history of ancient everyday Roman life....
  21. San Saba
    San Saba (rione of Rome)

    San Saba is the XXI rioni of Rome. It was named after the Basilica of San Saba , which lies there....
  22. Prati
    Prati (rione of Rome)

    Prati is the XXII rioni of Rome. Its logo is the shape of Castel Sant'Angelo, in a blue color on a silver background. Hadrian's mausoleum was not in this area, but in the Borgo , bordering Prati to the south....


Logos of the modern rioni


See also

  • Administrative subdivision of Rome
    Administrative subdivision of Rome

    The administrative subdivision of Rome consists of the 19 sub-municipalities of Rome's municipality. Originally, the city was divided into 20 sub-municipalities, but the XIV, what is now the Comune di Fiumicino, Italy, voted some years ago to become a full municipality itself and eventually detached from Rome....
  • Frazione
    Frazione

    A frazione, in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere....
  • Località
    Località

    A localit?, in Italy, is the name given to inhabited places that are not accorded a more significant distinction in administrative law such as a frazione, comune, municipio, circoscrizione, or quartiere....
  • Circoscrizione
    Circoscrizione

    Circoscrizione can refer to two different administrative units of Italy. One is an electoral district approximating to the English "constituency" but typically the size of a province or region depending on the election....
  • Rione
    Rione

    Rione is the name given to a ward in several Italian cities, the best-known of which is rioni of Rome. Unlike a quartiere, a rione is usually an official administrative subdivision....
  • Terziere
    Terziere

    A terziere is a subdivision of several towns in Italy. The word derives from wiktionary:terzo, meaning "third"; and is thus used only for towns divided into three neighborhoods....
  • Quartiere
    Quartiere

    A quartiere is a subdivision of certain Italy towns. The word is from quarto, or fourth, and was thus properly used only for towns divided into four neighborhoods; from it is derived the English word "quarter" to mean a neighborhood ....
  • Sestiere
    Sestiere

    A sestiere is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from sesto, or sixth; and is thus used only for towns divided into six districts....


External links