Esquilino is part of the historic center of Rome, where urbanization developed in ancient times. Along with
Palatina,
Collina and
Suburana, the area was one of the four
regiones established by
Servius Tullius: until Emperor
Augustus adopted a new administrative subdivision of the city, the region included the whole area that is part of the modern
rione Monti. The territory of the modern
rione Esquilino, however, has always been regarded as the frontier of the inner city. Initially at the edge of the
Servian Wall, whose
agger was located in the area, during the
Imperial age the borough was inserted inside the
Aurelian Walls, though remaining marginal in the city context: indeed, according to a probable etymology, the name comes from the Latin word
esquiliae, meaning "suburb". Up until Augustan age, the area beyond the
agger of the republican walls was a huge landfill, while another portion housed a cemetery for slaves and indigent people. Following the
urban reform pursued by Emperor Augustus, the polluted and pestilent areas were interred and the embankment of the ancient walls became a footway. Also created in the area was a park, the
Gardens of Maecenas, a complex of magnificent gardens which housed a tall tower where, according to
Suetonius, Emperor
Nero watched Rome burning. Until the late Imperial age, the borough became a favorite location of residential villas, called
Horti. During the
Middle Ages, the area came into possession of several orders and convents seated near
Santa Maria Maggiore. Starting from the 17th century, a number of aristocratic villas were built in the territory of the
rione, such as Villa Palombara, that used to house the famous
Porta Alchemica which currently stands out in the garden of
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. A relevant part of the ancient remains has been dismantled after the residential development of the area, starting from 1870, with the construction of new buildings destined to the clerical middle class. ==Geography==