Uncover the city’s living history. Rione maps Rome’s ancient quarters dynamically — unlocking subterranean layers, hidden stories and local secrets right where you stand.
Dynamic, interactive boundaries of all of Rome’s historical rioni, colour-coded and tappable.
Every monument with photos, history and the stories beneath the stones.
Italy's national astronomical observatory was established on the summit of Monte Mario in 1938, choosing the city's highest hill for its clearer skies. Run today by the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), it continues serious research while also keeping a "Astronomical and Copernican Museum" of historic instruments — globes, telescopes and astrolabes — that trace humanity's changing picture of the cosmos.
At 139 metres, Monte Mario is the highest hill in Rome, and its belvedere offers the single most expansive panorama of the city — a sweeping view that takes in the dome of St Peter's, the historic centre, and, on a clear day, the Alban Hills and the distant blue line of the Apennines beyond.
The slopes of Monte Mario form one of Rome's largest protected natural areas, a green ridge of Mediterranean woodland — holm oak, umbrella pine and aromatic scrub — that has survived almost untouched on the edge of the city. The Romans called the hill "Monte Malo" before it took its present name.