PHOTOREPORTAGE

It was February 18, 1920 when the then King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, presided over an important ceremony in Piazza Benedetto Brin in Rome. It was the official opening of the Garbatella neighborhood.

Built to house the families of workers from the nearby industrial area of Ostiense and workers employed in an ambitious project to build two river ports on the Tiber River (actually never built). What was once a notorious village on the southern slope of Rome gradually transformed into one of the most characteristic areas of the city.

The origin of the neighborhoods name is already intriguing, among the many speculations is the story of a tavern in the neighborhood where there was a hostess with such gentle and polite ways that she was given the nickname “garbata ostella” i.e polite hostess. It is said that her real name was Carlotta and that the tavern was located in the area of the Basilica of S.paolo, at via delle Sette Chiese, the road that pilgrims traveled on their pilgrimage to the seven churches of Rome. Legends aside, this little-known corner of Rome owes its fortune to its authentic character, which is shaped by eclectic architecture, bumpy streets, winding steps and the famous “lotti”. The primary inspiration of the new neighborhood was in fact that of the English garden city, a complex of singlefamily houses with internal courtyards and plots of agricultural land, the lot being, in fact, the central character for the urban planning of the neighborhood.

Today Garbatella has the intimate atmosphere of a small town and a worn and authentic charm enlivened by the stories of its inhabitants, who were born there and have never left.

An island of silent and true Roman spirit.