Garbatella: the 1920s garden-city lotti: a walk in Rome

A loop through the housing courts (lotti) of Garbatella, the garden suburb founded in 1920: low buildings round shared courtyards once used for washing lines and vegetable plots. It passes the founding piazza, the Palladium theatre, the parish church Pope John Paul II visited first and the Carlotta fountain, then drops to the Centrale Montemartini on Via Ostiense.

Best time: Morning, or late afternoon when people sit out in the courtyards and piazzas

The route, stop by stop

1
Garbatella station (Metro B)
Start here, at the footbridge over the tracks. 2 min.
2
Garbatella
King Vittorio Emanuele III laid the first stone of Garbatella here on 18 February 1920. Some of the oldest lotti stand round the square. 10 min.
A 1920s garden-city district of courtyard housing blocks (lotti) with communal gardens, local osterie and a strong neighbourhood identity. Tourists skip it because it has no…
3
Teatro Palladium
Piazza Bartolomeo Romano 8: the district's theatre, now owned by Roma Tre University. 5 min.
4
San Francesco Saverio alla Garbatella
Piazza Damiano Sauli: the parish church where John Paul II made his first official parish visit as pope on 3 December 1978. He had heard confessions here in 1946. 10 min.
5
Fontana della Carlotta and the Scala degli Innamorati
Piazza Ricoldo da Montecroce: the Carlotta fountain and its steps, the "Scala degli Innamorati" (lovers' steps). Carlotta is the innkeeper of the legend behind the name Garbatella ("garbata ostella", the kindly hostess). A plaque marks lotto 31, home of the Roman folk singer Alvaro Amici. 10 min.
6
Piazza Eugenio Biffi
The "Albergo suburbano" building and a small medieval bridge in the square. 10 min.
7
Centrale Montemartini
Downhill to Via Ostiense 106: ancient statues displayed among the machinery of the old power station. 60 min if you go in.
Classical statues from the Capitoline collections set among the diesel engines and turbines of Rome's first power station. Locals love it for the contrast; tourists rarely leave…

Walking directions

Garbatella: the 1920s garden-city lotti

The route, stop by stop

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