A Guide to Testaccio, Rome’s Coolest Neighbourhood

Testaccio_The_Fontana_of_the_Amphora
Customers are eating pasta on Rome Food Tour
Award-Winning

Rome Food Tour through Trastevere

Clock icon4.96(3203)
from79 €

Rome’s riverside working-class neighbourhood of Testaccio is a little off the main tourist drag. But it is a great place to explore, with cultural and culinary offerings from the ancient to the modern. Here’s our insider’s guide to one of the coolest neighbourhoods in Rome. 

Where is Testaccio?

Testaccio is in the southeast of Rome’s historic centre. It borders the rioni (districts) of Ripa, along the River Tiber, and San Saba to the east and the cool industrial district of Ostiense to the south. West across the River Tiber are Portuense (Trastevere) and Gianicolense.

Getting to Testaccio

Rome’s metro, tram, and bus network connect Testaccio to the rest of the city centre. To arrive by metro, take the B line to Piramide Station. By tram, take Line 3, which connects Trastevere Station to the Colosseum and city centre. Several bus routes also pass by Testaccio, stopping at three stops on the Via Marmorata. 

Make sure to bookmark our Guide to Getting Around Rome

Things to Do in Testaccio

Visit the Pyramid of Caius Cestius

On the edge of the area is the Pyramid of Caius Cestius. Yes, Rome has a pyramid, but it’s made of Carrara marble! Dating to 12 BC, it was the final resting place of a magistrate and member of the priestly colleges who served in Egypt. As its inscription testifies, Cestius requested its construction in 330 days, and promised his slave labourers their freedom if they completed it in time (how very generous I hear you say).

moritz-kindler-t2L-zJg72MQ-unsplash

The Pyramid of Caius Cestius, one of the main symbols of Testaccio

You’ll notice how the pyramid seems to have been inserted between the 3rd-century CE Aurelian Walls. That’s because, rather than raze the pyramid, the emperor Aurelian decided to incorporate it into his walls, using its marble mass as a natural fortification. 

The two towers across the road are what’s left of the ancient gate that led to Ostia, the port of Rome (Porta Ostiense). Today the gate is called the Porta San Paolo after the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls which is further down the Via Ostiense.

Going Inside the Pyramid

Private tours for groups (maximum 20 people) take place on the third and fourth Saturdays and Sundays of each month (at 10 am and midday). These tours, which must be booked in advance, can be held in English, Italian, French, German and Spanish, and the group rate is €130. To book, call 0639967702.

Visit the Non-Catholic Cemetery

Behind Testaccio’s pyramid is the Cimitero Acattolico or Non-Catholic Cemetery, the final resting place of many notable foreigners who died in Rome. Its beautifully kept gravestones are set amid cypress and pomegranate trees. Most notable are the graves of English Romantic poets John Keats and Percy Shelley, and the German author Goethe. 

Peak the Remains of Rome’s Ancient Port

Cross the River Tiber, between Testaccio and Trastevere, and you can still see traces of Rome’s ancient port. The emporium dates to 193 BC and was built to accommodate the vast influx of goods and commerce that flooded Rome following her victory against Hannibal in the Second Punic War.

It was here that goods arriving from Ostia Antica—wine, olives, and all kinds of other foodstuffs from the Mediterranean—were offloaded, having been transported upriver on oxen-pulled barges. The brick structure you see today dates roughly from the reign of Trajan (97 - 117 CE)so is about as old as the Pantheon. Another trace of Rome’s emporium is visible beneath Testaccio Market.

banner_emporium

The brick remains of Testaccio's emporium (port) along the River Tiber

Climb Monte Testaccio

With so many amphorae vessels flooding into the ancient capital, the Romans needed somewhere to dispose of them. If you take Via Galvani, you will reach Monte Testaccio, a man-made mountain of millions of broken pottery shards dating back to ancient Rome. You can still see carefully stacked broken amphora shards peeping out through the vegetation, a peaceful scene in what is essentially a 1700-year-old rubbish dump!

Monte-Testaccio-2-min

View at the summit of Monte Testaccio

You can only climb up with a guide, and booking involves a painfully administrative procedure of calling a particular number and speaking with an Italian-speaking operative. 

Here’s the info if you’re feeling brave. 

Grab Lunch at Testaccio Market

Address: Via Aldo Manuzio 66b, 00153

Open: Monday-Saturday, 7 am - 3:30 pm

Testaccio Market is the neighbourhood’s highlight and a hive of activity from morning until mid-afternoon. Here, locals do their fruit and vegetable shopping while wide-eyed visitors taste their way around its food stalls. Wherever you eat in Testaccio Market, you can’t go wrong. But here are some of our favourites:

For pizza, try Casa Manco (Box 22) where the dough is left to rise for 100 hours and the toppings are nothing short of exquisite. For a hearty plate of pasta, try Le Mani in Pasta (Box 58). Roman street food, like supplì, deep-fried artichokes, and croquettes, is the speciality of Food Box (Box 66) while you’ll find delicious Florentine dishes like lampredotto and ribollita at Sicché (Box 37).

Suppli_Carbonara_Street_Food_Testaccio_Market

Supplì at the Foodbox in Testaccio Market

View the Neighbourhood’s Street Art

Testaccio is home to some of Rome’s most eye-catching works of street art. “Kindness”, by Alice Pasquini, adorns the walls of Testaccio Market closest to Via Galvani. But the biggest and boldest artwork in Testaccio is Roa’s enormous She-Wolf, the symbol of Rome, superimposed onto a 20th-century palazzo not far from the market. 

andreas-kaiser-hkdkuckIxd8-unsplash

Roa’s She Wolf, the most eye-catching street artwork in Testaccio

A thought-provoking piece by the artist Blu covers the façade of a former airforce warehouse on Via Porto Fluviale. Using its windows as eyes, the artist depicts the faces of immigrants forced to make this building their home. Across the road, on the corner of Via Gasometro, is “Antismog”, the most ecological mural in Europe, whose paint purifies the air by absorbing CO2. 

Where to Eat in Testaccio

Piatto Romano

Address: Via Giovanni Battista Bodoni 62, 00153

Open: Monday-Saturday: 12:45 - 3 pm; 7:45 - 11:30 pm.

Exceptional little restaurant serving seasonal Roman recipes. Their cacio e pepe with wild Madagascar pepper is out of this world, as is the hunter’s-style rabbit, slow-cooked in anchovy, vinegar and white wine.

Booking a table is recommended, and don’t be surprised if they take a holding fee in case of a no-show. 

Cacio-e-Pepe-Recipe

Classic Roman Cacio e Pepe

Da Bucatino

Address: Via Luca della Robbia 84, 00153

Open: Tuesday-Sunday: 12 - 3 pm; 7 - 11:55 pm. 

Huge portions abound at this no-nonsense trattoria that feels more like a big family dining room. The bucatini all’amatriciana is the highlight, for which they’ll unceremoniously wrap a bib around you so you don’t end up covered in tomato sauce. 

Pizzeria Da Remo

Address: Piazza di S Maria Liberatrice 44, 00153

Open: Daily 7 - 11 pm

Remo serves up the quintessential Roman pizzeria experience, brusque service but fantastic food, with a focus on wafer-thin pizzas and deep-fried street food. Da Remo only accepts walk-ins, but make yourself known when you arrive or they might confuse you for a local and think you’re waiting for a takeaway pizza. Not speaking from experience or anything. 

Pizzeria-Da-Remo

Testaccio’s Pizzeria Da Remo

Flavio al Velavevodetto

Address: Via di Monte Testaccio 97, 00153

Open: Daily 12:30 - 3 pm; 7:30 - 11 pm

Flavio
rigatoni-alla-carbonara-flavio

Interior of Flavio al Velavedodetto in Testaccio

Rigatoni alla Carbonara, one of the best dishes in Flavio al Velavevodetto

You’ll never eat anywhere like Flavio al Velavevodetto. Hewn within the ancient amphorae shards of Monte Testaccio, this cavernous restaurant is simple but atmospheric. Its menu is quintessentially Roman, with the rigatoni alla carbonara the standout star. Book your table here

Best Bars in Testaccio

Enoteca Palombi (Oasi dell Birra)

Address: Piazza Testaccio 39, 00153

Open: Daily, 8 am - 1:30 pm; 4:30 pm - 1 am. (Open all day at weekends)

Situated just off Testaccio’s bustling main piazza, this bar offers an unparalleled selection of tapped beers along with generous platters of cured meats, cheeses, and pasta dishes. Nab one of the few tables outside and sit shoulder to shoulder with locals or order your drink to go and sit out on the piazza.

Media
Alexander Meddings
Check iconVerified Writer
Alexander Meddings is a professional copywriter and postgraduate in Roman history from the University of Oxford. After graduating with his MPhil, he moved to Florence and then Rome to carry out his research on the ground and pursue his passion at the source. He now works in travel, as a writer and content consultant, and in education as a university lecturer and translator.
Get in Touch!
Enjoy the latest offers, insider tips and all things Carpe Diem!
Download the app