Quote:
Originally Posted by mr1138
Back in the time of Caesar, Monti was known as "suburra" and was a notorious slum and red-light district. Augustus built an enormous fire wall (also seen in the picture I re-posted) between the slum and the Roman Forum to prevent fires and "riff-raff" from entering the forum. The professor who informed us of this history pointed out that this very same fire wall now does an amazingly good job of keeping tourists out of Monti despite its close proximity to the forum! It's an easy neighborhood to miss if you aren't looking for it, but it is absolutely priceless and, in my opinion, a must see area when in Rome.
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seems like decisions taken 2000 years ago still influence today's urban fabric and human behavior. very interesting, thanks! funny how a small hill and and separate parts of an ancient wall scare lazy tourists.