San Lorenzo (Rome, Italy)
publish on RomePhotoBlog on February 10, 2009.
I really enjoyed spending the last week posting photos from Trastevere, so I decided to cover another neighborhood this week. On Sunday I set out for a few hours in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Rome. Those of you unfamiliar with the area, please get ready for a completely different side of Rome, for this is not a neighborhood with monuments on the tourist track or grand fountains, but one that is a very vibrant part of Roman life. I've already posted a few photos taken in the quartiere, two posts on the gates of the Verano Cemetery (see here and here) and shots from the Screaming Ballerinas concert, which was at a club in the area.
San Lorenzo is essentially squashed between the Verano Cemetery and Termini Station and was built up in the late 1800s as an industrial neighborhood for factory workers. You can see this in the "new" architecture of the buildings, as well as some of the abandoned factories. The neighborhood had the misfortune to be the most bombed in Rome during WWII, and on July 19, 1943 Allied forces released 3000 bombs, causing many fatalities. These scars still show in some of the architecture of the neighborhood, which has now been reborn as the most youthful area of Rome. By this I mean that it's hugely populated by students and there are, in fact, a few university departments located here. La Sapienza, Rome's public university, is located close by, making San Lorenzo a fantastic mix of young students who are passionate about art, politics, food, and music. I went during the day, so this really is a bit of a misrepresentation, for at night the streets are packed. San Lorenzo has some great restaurants (the pizzeria Formula Uno on via degli Equi is a favorite of mine), bars, and shops. If you want to see where young Italian hang out, this is it. This also means that there is a lot of street art in San Lorenzo. And yes, I say street art and not graffiti because I feel like graffiti has a bad stigma associated with it and the posts I'll be featuring about street art will hopefully show you just how beautiful and creative some of it can be.
Well that's my introduction to the neighborhood, stay tuned over the following days for more to come.
In other news, I've recently expanded my Flickr account and have begun to upload my archive of photos and will be continuing to put more in from now on. I never have enough space on the blog to put all that I shoot, so if you like what you see and want more, please feel free to check it out.
I really enjoyed spending the last week posting photos from Trastevere, so I decided to cover another neighborhood this week. On Sunday I set out for a few hours in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Rome. Those of you unfamiliar with the area, please get ready for a completely different side of Rome, for this is not a neighborhood with monuments on the tourist track or grand fountains, but one that is a very vibrant part of Roman life. I've already posted a few photos taken in the quartiere, two posts on the gates of the Verano Cemetery (see here and here) and shots from the Screaming Ballerinas concert, which was at a club in the area.
San Lorenzo is essentially squashed between the Verano Cemetery and Termini Station and was built up in the late 1800s as an industrial neighborhood for factory workers. You can see this in the "new" architecture of the buildings, as well as some of the abandoned factories. The neighborhood had the misfortune to be the most bombed in Rome during WWII, and on July 19, 1943 Allied forces released 3000 bombs, causing many fatalities. These scars still show in some of the architecture of the neighborhood, which has now been reborn as the most youthful area of Rome. By this I mean that it's hugely populated by students and there are, in fact, a few university departments located here. La Sapienza, Rome's public university, is located close by, making San Lorenzo a fantastic mix of young students who are passionate about art, politics, food, and music. I went during the day, so this really is a bit of a misrepresentation, for at night the streets are packed. San Lorenzo has some great restaurants (the pizzeria Formula Uno on via degli Equi is a favorite of mine), bars, and shops. If you want to see where young Italian hang out, this is it. This also means that there is a lot of street art in San Lorenzo. And yes, I say street art and not graffiti because I feel like graffiti has a bad stigma associated with it and the posts I'll be featuring about street art will hopefully show you just how beautiful and creative some of it can be.
Well that's my introduction to the neighborhood, stay tuned over the following days for more to come.
In other news, I've recently expanded my Flickr account and have begun to upload my archive of photos and will be continuing to put more in from now on. I never have enough space on the blog to put all that I shoot, so if you like what you see and want more, please feel free to check it out.
Views: 696
Tags: italy, neighborhood, rome, san lorenzo
Comment
-
Comment by Alessio on July 5, 2010 at 4:11am -
Very interesting post, the atmosphere of San Lorenzo has been captured.
At night the district is full of life thanks to its proximity to the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, giving it the reputation of a district of young people and artists. The transformation of this cultural district is at present so significant as to warrant to San Lorenzo a reputation for “Montmartre” of Rome. Here suggested you will find some good and cheap restaurants: it is mentioned Formula 1 and others: http://www.leonhouses.com/holiday-apartments/restaurants-/san-loren...
-
Comment by Jessica on February 12, 2009 at 10:56am -
Hey Grant, thanks! Yeah, I like to mix it up because otherwise it could get a bit boring shooting the same old thing. That's the fantastic part of Rome, it gives you a great mix of everything!
-
Comment by Grant Currie on February 12, 2009 at 10:11am -
Great picys and article. I live up in Chianti and it sometimes gets a little tiresome taking photos of the usual iconic images of Tuscany. You need something a little different than the norm to stay motivated.
-
Comment by Christine on February 12, 2009 at 6:33am -
Um, YEAH! Hi! Sign me up for whatever you've got.
http://missexpatria.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/saturday-photo-post-my-rome/
http://missexpatria.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/a-stone-by-any-other-name/
http://missexpatria.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/my-home-in-rome/
http://missexpatria.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/living-the-slow-life-rome/
-
Comment by Jessica on February 11, 2009 at 3:35am
-
Great, I know she'll be here definitely in May because we are going to have a meetup with some other people in town from TBEX as well. Let's put something together for sure.
-
Comment by Kim Mance, Founder of TBEX on February 10, 2009 at 6:52pm -
Definitely. I think Miss Expatria will be in Rome at that time too. We want to start having travel bloggers show us some of their favorite spots, on camera.
-
Comment by Jessica on February 10, 2009 at 5:37pm
-
Oh fantastic...I'll be featuring the neighborhood all week. We should meet up when you're in town!
-
Comment by Kim Mance, Founder of TBEX on February 10, 2009 at 4:34pm
-
Loving these photos, and the overview of San Lorenzo. We'll be in Rome this March...looking forward to it!
Connect with TBEX
TBEX '12 SPONSORS
Presenting Sponsors:
Diamond Sponsor:
Platinum Sponsors:
Gold Sponsors:
Silver Sponsors:
Media Sponsors:
For a TBEX sponsorship rate card please email us.
Recent Visitors
Latest Activity
© 2012 Created by TBEX Admin.
You need to be a member of Travel Blog Exchange to add comments!
Join Travel Blog Exchange