San Lorenzo District

The San Lorenzo District east of Rome

The San Lorenzo district lives on the student presence with the Sapienza University. Young people who study here come from all over Italy and other countries, especially Europe. Despite a certain gentrification, the bohemian atmosphere remains, legacy of its long proletarian and antifascist history.
These streets are close to the Termini station, on the other side of the Aurelian Walls and the railway, crossed by the Via Tiburtina which is a Roman origin road.
It is the main student district of Rome, lively during the day thanks to its associations, small bookshops and craftsmen, and in the evening with its bars, restaurants and clubs. It is not far from the Pigneto district, on the other side of the railway and the Porta Maggiore, which for fifteen years is also a lively district.

Aurelian Walls

The popular character of the district dates back to its construction in the 19th century, to accommodate at the time the workers of a brewery, a pasta factory and the railway center. It was a heart of antifascism (movement to protect trade unions against the murderous repression of employer designated as fascists), even stopping the march of black shirts on Rome in 1922. Later, the fascists carried out violent reprisals against the workers.

Beyond the nightlife, you can discover some attractions, such as the Porta Tiburtina gate of Roman origin, beautiful sections of the Aurelian Walls and several aqueducts. The Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls (Basilica San Lorenzo fuori le Mura) is also a beautiful monument, built on two juxtaposed churches, one dating back to the 4th century AD. It was rebuilt after the Anglo-American bombings of the Second World War, which also destroyed much of the neighborhood, killing 1674 people on July 19, 1943. Next to it, the Campo Verano cemetery is the great monumental cemetery of Rome.

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