Surroundings:

The district is an irresistible and lively site where you can experience the very heart of Rome: it is undoubtely the district which best preserved the aspects of ancient Rome in its monuments, layout and the customs of its inhabitants. There are countless craftsmen shops, art shops and arthouse cinemas. At times it seems that every ground-floor space is a restaurant, a pizzeria, a "piano-bar", a bookshop with attached a cosy bar.
This is a district which stays up late at night, where night-owls can find bread and wine at any time to soothe their thirst of entertainment also thanks to the music which pours out into the clubs and to the cheerful and spontaneous crowds one meets, or literally bumps into in the streets.

The name of Trastevere derives from Latin "Trans Tiber" (across the Tiber).
During the ancient Roman period it was a green neighbourhood belonging to noble families, including that of Julius Caesar. Cleopatra is thought to have lived here. It was still within the walls, and the gates were Porta Portese and Porta San Pancrazio.
After the fall of the empire it became a quarter of Jewish trading communities. In the early Middle Ages the Jews moved to the other side of the river (the quarter that later became the Ghetto), and Trastevere became the main working-class district of the capital. The inhabitant boast the quarter as "er core de Roma" (the heart of Rome).
Nowadays it is a picturesque and artistic quarter where the so called "Roma sparita" (the 17th - 19th century "disappeared Rome", with all its lively, authentic relations embedded in human qualities and with a human pace) is still somehow in the air and in everybody's memory, generating a nostalgic attitude.

All streets seem to lead to the stunning Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. The Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere is believed to be the oldest one dedicated to the Virgin in Rome. Although the first church was built on the site in the 3rd Century, the present structure was rebuilt in the 12th century according to the Romanesque style. The interior decoration are of the baroque period.

Activities:

On the other side of Viale Trastevere there is a very renowned and popular flee-market. It is called Porta Portese, as its traditional main entrance is this ancient Roman gate, which is near the Tiber and to the adjacent ancient port of Rome. It originated as a black market during World War II, and it became very popular just after. Perhaps the most interesting section is the one with antiques, in Piazza and Via Ippolito Nievo. The market is open only on Sunday morning, and the best bargains are achieved early or very late, at closing time which is around 1-1.30 PM.

In July there is a characteristic popular festival, much attended by tourists and Roman alike, called "Festa de Noantri", which means in Roman slang "Festival for Ourselves".

There are also beautiful churches, like Santa Maria della Scala, or Santa Cecilia, also dated back to the 3rd century. In its immediate surrounding there is the romantic and fashonable Piazza dei Mercanti - painted at night by the light of ancient roman torches - offering two of the most popular restaurants in Rome, the folkloristic Meo Patacca and the medieval Taverna dei Mercanti. During the two centuries before unification (1870) there was a strong tradition of violent rivalry between the "bulli trasteverini" (Trastevere toughs) and the "monticiani" (the boys from Monti). The violent clashes between gangs (an anticipation of West Side Story) were narrated by poet Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli, whose statue now adorns Piazza Belli at the beginning of Viale Trastevere. The boisterous character, the fun loving vulgarity and the good-humoured cynicism of the Trasteverini as described by Belli (which are regarded nowadays as typical Roman popular traits) are seemingly kept alive as a cheerful fashion just to impress. Nevertheless one can still find old ladies sitting outside just for the pleasure of watching passers-by while they shell beans, or neighbours chatting to one-another from the windows etc.. The old character is still in the air.

The trasport to the remaining quarters of the "centro storico" is very well orgaized by means of tram 8 in Viale Trastevere . It is like a subway actually, as it has own lanes, and is very frequent with many stops along the Viale. It arrives in a few minutes to Largo Argentina, right in the middle of the centre, at walking distance to anywhere.