30 min
40 min
B · 3
2.4 / km²
7
0
72
−6% vs city
Counted from OpenStreetMap and Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0)
Staying in Ripa & the Aventine
Ripa is the Aventine: the hill above the Circus Maximus, with Santa Sabina, the orange grove at Parco Savello, the Knights of Malta keyhole that frames St Peter's dome, and the streets of villas and convents between them. Below it the rione runs down to the Tiber and the old river port.
It is the calmest place to stay in central Rome. There is no through traffic, the hill is green, and you look out over the Palatine from the park. Circo Massimo and Piramide on metro line B are at the bottom of the slope, the Colosseum is twenty minutes on foot, and Testaccio's food is over the road for dinner.
The price is that you are living on a hill in a residential district. Almost nothing is open here: a couple of restaurants, one small supermarket, and then you walk down and back up again. It suits couples, second visits and anybody who has done a Roman trip staying in the noise and would rather not repeat it. It is a poor choice for a short first visit, because everything is twenty minutes and a climb away.
What works
- The quietest streets in central Rome, with no through traffic
- Parco Savello's orange grove and the Knights of Malta keyhole
- Circo Massimo and Piramide on metro B at the foot of the hill
- Testaccio's markets and restaurants are directly over the road
What does not
- Barely anything open in the district - you walk down for dinner
- It is a steep hill, and you climb it at the end of every day
- About 30 minutes on foot to Piazza Navona
- A poor fit for a short first visit, where minutes matter
Less popular, but just as nice, is the orange grove at Parco Savello on the Aventine Hill.