Vineyards, horti, and gardens in the “Tridente romano” during the Sixteenth century
At the beginning of the 16th century the area between the Aurelian walls, the Tiber and the Pincian
hills, also known as Northern Campomarzio, was characterized by the presence of vineyards, orchards
and some gardens, in the midst of which stood the ruins of ancient monuments like the Mausoleum of
Augustus.
During the pontificate of Leo X Medici, following a series of political, economic and demographic
needs, the area was quickly urbanized according to a rigorous project, to be attributed to Raphael and
Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, flanked, according to the papal wishes, by the
Magistri Viarum,
without forgetting the role of institutions such as the Hospital of San Giacomo in Augusta and the
Augustinians monks, owners of many lands, and members of the papal court, such as Angelo Colocci
and Sigismondo Chigi, who decided to invest in the area. Thus was born what is still called the
“Tridente romano”. However, there were still some areas not built, within which some gardens will
be created, such as the urban garden of Cardinal Orsini, or the famous Soderini garden located inside
the Mausoleum of Augustus. If the side between the Tiber and Via Lata will be built more densely, the
other side, towards the Pincio, will instead be characterized by the presence of vegetable gardens and
vineyards, with definitely a more agricultural function, which will be abandoned however in the 17th
century with the creation of gardens.
