Pigneto, Rome

Pigneto is an urban quarter whose streets grew together after 1870, just beyond Porta Maggiore. As you walk along Via del Pigneto, notice how the lanes and storefronts create a neighbourhood made for wandering rather than grand monuments. Its working life began with transport: outside the walls, a horse-drawn omnibus and tram depot was built between 1886 and 1891, and the tram service switched to electricity in 1904.

During the Allied bombing of 1943 and 1944, fifty transit employees were killed here. The quarter also became closely tied to Italian cinema. Roberto Rossellini filmed scenes from Rome, Open City here, while Pier Paolo Pasolini used Via del Pigneto and its side streets for Accattone in 1961.

Look for the lane associated with Accattone's hero, and for the tavern location on Via Fanfulla da Lodi. On the neighbourhood walls, a later homage to Pasolini includes a masked superhero carrying the words “I know the names,” while another mural isolates his eye. Since Via del Pigneto became pedestrianised, students and bars have helped make these streets a busy evening meeting place.