In
ancient times, the
rione was densely populated; Monti was home to the
Forum Romanum and the so-called
Suburra, where poor people lived, full of disreputable locals and brothels. In the
Middle Ages the situation was completely different: the Roman aqueducts were damaged, and it was very difficult to bring water to Monti since it was on the hills. Hence many inhabitants moved to
Campus Martius, a lower level part, where they could drink the water from the river
Tiber. From the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century, the
rione remained an area full of vineyards and vegetable gardens. Monti was not densely populated because of the lack of water and because it was quite far from the
Vatican, the center of Christian culture. The area did not become abandoned thanks to the church of
San Giovanni in Laterano and the constant high number of pilgrims. Still in the Middle Ages the inhabitants of Monti, called
monticiani, developed a strong identity: their Roman dialect was different from that spoken in the other rioni. Their main enemies were the people from the other rione with a strong identity,
Trastevere, and they often used to fight with one another. Then, with growing urbanization at the end of the 19th century after Rome had become the capital of a united Italy, the great changes of the Fascist period completely changed the appearance of the rione. In particular, between 1924 and 1936, a large part of the rione, consisting of small streets and popular houses, was destroyed to make way for the
Via dei Fori Imperiali (the street artificially dividing the
Roman Forum and most of the
Imperial forums) and the archaeological buildings of the Forum Romanum were excavated. Thanks to its position, Monti is full of archaeological sites such as: •
Colosseum •
Ludus Magnus (the gym for
gladiators) •
Nero's
Domus Aurea • the
Baths of Trajan • the
Baths of Titus • part of the
Forum Romanum •
Markets of Trajan ==Geography==