Rione Ripa: What to See

Rione Ripa, the 12th of Rome's historic rioni, is explored on foot and almost all of it is free: streets, squares, viewpoints, city gardens and churches have no ticket. You pay for the Circus Maximus archaeological area, €7 full price and €4 reduced for those who don't live in Rome and its metropolitan area according to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina, and for the Circo Maximo Experience augmented reality visit, €12 full price. For everything else, you just have to choose your route.

The rione includes the Aventine Hill, the valley of the Circus Maximus, the area of the Velabrum and the ancient Forum Boarium around the Mouth of Truth, and Tiber Island in the middle of the river. The Rome Capital tourist portal marks its boundary with Piazza di Monte Savello, Via del Teatro di Marcello, Vico Jugario, Via dei Fienili, Via di San Teodoro, Via dei Cerchi, Piazza di Porta Capena, Viale Aventino, Piazza Albania, Via and Largo Manlio Gelsomini, Via Marmorata, Piazza dell'Emporio and the Lungotevere Aventino and dei Pierleoni.

Data checked on September 29, 2026 on the Rome Capital tourist portal, on the Sovrintendenza Capitolina pages dedicated to the Circus Maximus and Parco Savello, on the Circo Maximo Experience website, on the City's pages about the Rose Garden and on the website of the basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Hours of individual churches and special openings change often. For city-run sites the reference is 060608, the Rome Capital contact center, open every day from 9:00 to 19:00.

In brief: address, hours, ticket

• Where: Rione XII Ripa, Municipio I, between the Aventine, the Circus Maximus, the Mouth of Truth and Tiber Island, with the boundaries given by the Rome Capital tourist portal.
• How to enter: it's a piece of the city, and you can walk through it freely, day and night.
• Price: streets, gardens and churches are free. You pay for the Circus Maximus archaeological area (€7, reduced €4, free for residents with ID) and the Circo Maximo Experience (€12, reduced €10).
• Hours: Parco Savello from 7:00 to 18:October 00 through February, until 20:00 in March and September, until 21:00 from April to August. Circus Maximus archaeological area Tuesday to Sunday.
• How to get there: metro Line B, Circo Massimo stop, according to the Circo Maximo Experience website.
• Information: 060608 for Rome Capital sites, 06 6787759 for Santa Maria in Cosmedin according to the tourist portal.

Where it is and what you actually see

The rione occupies the left bank of the Tiber south of the Capitoline Hill. On the map it is a strip that runs down from the Theater of Marcellus to Piazza dell'Emporio and climbs the Aventine up to Viale Aventino. Inside there are three different landscapes: the low city of the Velabrum and of the square of the Mouth of Truth, the big empty valley of the Circus Maximus, and the residential hill with churches and gardens. Plus the island in the river, which belongs to the same rione.

The lower part is the oldest and the most crowded. Around Piazza della Bocca della Verità you find the basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin with the Mouth of Truth in its portico, the Temple of Hercules Victor, the rectangular temple attributed to Portunus and the remains of the Forum Boarium, the cattle market of the ancient city. A little farther north, in the Velabrum valley, there are the Arch of Janus and San Giorgio in Velabro.

The valley of the Circus Maximus is almost all lawn, about 600 meters long and 140 wide according to the Rome Capital tourist portal. The side toward the Palatine marks the boundary with rione Campitelli, along Via dei Cerchi. The fenced archaeological area is at the end toward Viale Aventino, with the Moletta tower and the hemicycle. The rest of the valley is an open urban park, used for running, strolling and for the big events the City hosts in summer.

On the Aventine the pace changes. Quiet streets, villas, convents, few cars. Here you find the basilica of Santa Sabina, Santi Bonifacio e Alessio, Sant'Anselmo, the Villa del Priorato di Malta in Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, Parco Savello with its terrace over the Tiber and the municipal Rose Garden. Farther down, toward the Circus, is the basilica of Santa Prisca with its mithraeum.

Parco Savello deserves a couple of lines of its own, because it is the place where the rione is best seen. The Sovrintendenza Capitolina explains that Raffaele De Vico, in 1932, gave the garden a strictly symmetrical layout, with a central avenue in line with the viewpoint. Anyone entering from Piazza Pietro d'Illiria therefore walks straight toward the view, between two rows of bitter orange trees, up to the balustrade over the Tiber. The design is built for that final moment, and it still works.

If you are looking only for the Aventine, with the hill's churches and gardens described one by one, among our pages you will find Aventine: what to see. Here the point of view is different. The rione is an administrative unit with precise boundaries, and the interesting thing is exactly that it holds together places that visitors usually separate: the ancient port, the market, the circus, the hill of convents, the island of the hospital. Seen in sequence, they tell how this part of Rome worked.

The churches of the rione are many more than the ones usually mentioned. Encyclopedia sources list on the Aventine also San Vincenzo de Paoli and Santa Maria del Priorato, inside the villa of the Order of Malta, and in the lower part Sant'Eligio dei Ferrari and Sant'Omobono, as well as San Giovanni Decollato, the church of the confraternity that assisted the condemned. Two churches on the square of the Mouth of Truth have been deconsecrated: Santa Maria del Sole and Santa Maria Egiziaca, that is, the two ancient temples of the Forum Boarium, reused as churches in the Middle Ages.

Civil architecture has its pieces too. Along Via Luigi Petroselli, encyclopedia sources point to the House of the Crescenzi, an 11th-century building dated between 1040 and 1065, built reusing ancient fragments, and the Anagrafe building, built between 1936 and 1939. The contrast between the two facades, a few meters apart, tells the story of the rione well: a medieval baronial tower and a 20th-century public building, on the same stretch of road that leads to the river.

A curiosity about Rione Ripa

The coat of arms of the rione is a white wheel on a red field. The Rome Capital tourist portal explains that the wheel recalls the river port of the area. Many mistake it for a cart wheel, tied to the races of the Circus Maximus, and the misunderstanding is understandable, given that the Circus valley takes up half the rione. The correct reading is another one: the rudder of the boats that came up the Tiber and unloaded goods along this bank.

The name has the same origin. Ripa means bank, shore. According to the Rome Capital tourist portal the place name comes from Ripa Grande, Rome's biggest river port, where goods arriving along the Tiber from the port of Fiumicino were unloaded. The sources don't agree on everything, though. The English version of the Wikipedia encyclopedia notes that from the fourth century the bank of the rione was called Ripa Graeca, for the Greek community that had settled there.

That Greek community has not entirely vanished from place names and from the liturgy. Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the church of the Mouth of Truth, is today entrusted to the Greek Melkite Catholic Church, as the basilica's website shows. It is a link to the ancient Greek presence along this bank that most visitors lined up for the photo don't even notice. Anyone who goes in during a service has to remember they are in a living church, with a community celebrating in it, and not in a museum.

One last curiosity, about the numbering. Ripa is rione XII, and the number tells a story of cuts. Until 1921 the rione was much bigger and reached Porta San Sebastiano, according to encyclopedia sources. With a city council resolution of that year, recalled by the Rome Capital tourist portal, two new rioni were split off from it, Testaccio and San Saba, numbered XX and XXI. Ripa lost half its territory but kept the old number.

One thing nobody tells you about Rione Ripa

Lungotevere Ripa and the church of San Michele a Ripa are not in Rione Ripa. They are on the other bank, in Trastevere, along what was the port of Ripa Grande on the right bank. It's the opposite position that is worth keeping in mind: anyone looking for the rione by following the street signs with the word Ripa ends up on the wrong side of the river. The official boundaries run instead on the left bank, along Lungotevere Aventino and Lungotevere dei Pierleoni.

A second thing rarely said: in our view the Mouth of Truth is the most overrated place in the rione, at least the way it is usually visited. The line forms for a photo of a few seconds behind a grille, and many leave without going into the basilica. Which is instead the best part, with a medieval interior and the bell tower that dominates the square. The advice is to reverse the priorities and give the church the time you take off the line, checking the basilica's hours first.

Third thing: Tiber Island, which almost everyone associates with Trastevere or the Ghetto, is part of Rione Ripa. Encyclopedia sources list among the buildings of the rione the Fatebenefratelli hospital and the church of San Bartolomeo. The boundary with rione Sant'Angelo passes through Piazza di Monte Savello, a few meters from Ponte Fabricio. For anyone drawing up an itinerary, this means the island connects naturally with the Mouth of Truth, along the river.

Fourth thing, a practical one. The Circus Maximus can be crossed for free, but the fenced part with the Moletta tower, the hemicycle and the ancient galleries can't. Many arrive thinking they'll find excavations visible from the lawn and are disappointed by a wide stretch of grass. The preserved structures can only really be seen by entering the archaeological area from Viale Aventino side, with the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ticket and the limited-capacity access that the operator states on its own page.

What are the official boundaries of Rione Ripa?

The delimitation published by the Rome Capital tourist portal starts in the north at Piazza di Monte Savello, on the border with rione Sant'Angelo. It continues along Via del Teatro di Marcello, Vico Jugario, Via dei Fienili, Via di San Teodoro and Via dei Cerchi, which separate Ripa from Campitelli. The Theater of Marcellus and the Palatine therefore stay outside, just beyond the line. The boundary then arrives at Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian begins.

From Porta Capena the perimeter follows Viale Aventino to Piazza Albania, then Via and Largo Manlio Gelsomini and Via Marmorata, on the border with the rioni San Saba and Testaccio. It closes at Piazza dell'Emporio, near Ponte Sublicio, and goes back up along the river with Lungotevere Aventino and Lungotevere dei Pierleoni. The Tiber is the natural boundary on the west. On maps the rione has the shape of an irregular triangle resting against the river.

What, surprisingly, stays outside? The basilica of San Saba and Santa Balbina, which many consider Aventine, belong to rione San Saba, created in 1921. The Pyramid of Cestius and Porta San Paolo lie beyond the southern boundaries. The Piccolo Aventino, that is, the hill of San Saba, is another unit. When people say Aventine in everyday speech they include everything. When they say Ripa they mean the greater hill and the valley.

Rioni are not municipi and have no offices of their own. They are the historic subdivision of the center, today inside Municipio I, as also stated in the Sovrintendenza Capitolina's page on Parco Savello. They serve for place names, for the identity of neighborhoods and, from a visitor's point of view, for getting oriented. Among our pages, The 22 Rioni of Rome explains how they came about, how they are numbered and what sets a rione apart from a quartiere.

My advice for visiting Rione Ripa

Start from the top and go down. Arrive by metro at the Circo Massimo stop, cross the Circus valley, climb the Aventine by Clivo dei Publicii or by Via di Valle Murcia, passing next to the Rose Garden. At the top you find Santa Sabina and Parco Savello. Then go down by Clivo di Rocca Savella toward the river, reach the Mouth of Truth and finish on Tiber Island. The climbs are all in the morning, the descents in the afternoon.

Choose the time based on the place that matters most. For the photo at the Mouth of Truth the line is shorter when the basilica opens, at 9:30 according to the hours given by the tourist portal. For Parco Savello the classic moment is sunset, with the sun going down behind St. Peter's, but in summer the terrace fills up a lot. For the archaeological Circus Maximus you need a day between Tuesday and Sunday, because on Monday the area is closed.

Count your time honestly. The rione is small on the map, but the difference in height between the Circus valley and the top of the Aventine is felt, especially in the heat. A full loop with stops in the churches, the garden, the Mouth of Truth and the island takes a good half day. If you add the Circus Maximus archaeological area or the Circo Maximo Experience, which lasts about 40 minutes according to the Sovrintendenza, plan for the whole day.

In churches the usual rules apply: shoulders and knees covered, silence, no visits during services. Santa Sabina and Sant'Anselmo are convent churches, with religious communities living next door. The Villa del Priorato di Malta is a diplomatic seat and can't be freely visited. From the square you look through the gate, and the line has to be respected without blocking the way. Real people live on the Aventine, with open windows and kids going to school.

What do you pay for and what is free in the rione?

Most of the rione has no ticket. Parco Savello and the rest of the city green areas are free, and Rome Capital's page on Parco Savello states free entry. The municipal Rose Garden, in its spring 2026 reopening from April 11 to June 14, was free according to the tourist portal. Churches are open free of charge during the hours set by the religious communities. You pay for the Circus Maximus archaeological area and the Circo Maximo Experience augmented reality visit.

Where do you actually buy tickets? For the Circus Maximus archaeological area the Sovrintendenza Capitolina page strongly recommends buying online or at 060608, because entry is limited. For the immersive visit the official channel is the Circo Maximo Experience website, with booking also through the contact center and purchase on site. There is no third-party reseller product dedicated to the rione worth pointing out. The advice is to go through the official channels.

The details of the archaeological area, according to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina: from the last Sunday of March to the last Saturday of October you enter from 9:30 to 19:00, with last entry at 18:00. From the last Sunday of October to the last Saturday of March the hours are 9:30 to 16:00, with last entry at 15:00. Closed on Monday, December 25 and May 1. For residents of Rome and the metropolitan city entry is free with an ID.

For the Circo Maximo Experience the Sovrintendenza gives a reduced ticket at €10, a family package at €22 for two adults with children under 18, and free admission under 6, for Roma Pass holders and for people with disabilities. The official website specifies that the reduced ticket applies, among others, to groups of at least 10 people and to anyone under 26. Eight languages are available, with virtual reality headsets from age 14.

Another well-known fact, yet rarely cited

That the Circus Maximus was the biggest entertainment building of antiquity, many people know. Less known is how long it lasted. According to the Rome Capital tourist portal the chariot races in the Murcia valley begin in the time of the Tarquin kings, the first masonry circus is due to Julius Caesar, the almost complete rebuilding comes under Trajan after the fires, and activity ends only in the sixth century. That is more than a thousand years of racing in the same place.

Afterward, the valley changed trades. The tourist portal notes that in the modern age the area was used as farmland and an industrial zone. Along Via dei Cerchi, encyclopedia sources still point out the building of the former Pantanella pasta factory. The lawn you see today is the result of recent landscaping, and the archaeological investigations in the fenced area ended in 2016. Anyone who thinks of the Circus as a ruin left intact since antiquity forgets centuries of vegetable gardens, workshops and warehouses.

Second well-known and rarely cited fact: the municipal Rose Garden occupies the area that from 1645 was the Jewish cemetery of Rome. The City's page explains that the cemetery was moved in 1934 to a section of the Verano, and that in the collections section the paths between the flower beds draw a menorah in plan, the seven-branched candelabrum that is a symbol of Judaism. The Rose Garden, originally on the Oppian Hill, had been destroyed during the Second World War.

Third fact: the medical vocation of Tiber Island is more than 2,000 years old. The tourist portal tells that in 291 BC, during a plague, the cult of Aesculapius, god of medicine, was brought from Epidaurus, and his temple rose on the island. The Fatebenefratelli hospital, founded in 1584 according to the same source, is still active. The same place has gone from a sanctuary of healing to a modern hospital without changing function.

The right photo to take at Rione Ripa

The photo that sums up the rione is taken from the terrace of Parco Savello, with the Tiber below and the domes of the center in the background, all the way to St. Peter's. The best moment is the hour before sunset, when the light comes from the side onto the roofs of Trastevere. In summer the viewpoint gets crowded and it's best to arrive early to find a spot at the balustrade. A medium lens or a slight zoom helps to separate the dome from the roofline.

The second image is the valley of the Circus Maximus seen from above, from the Aventine side, with the Palatine on the other side. You get it from the gardens and the streets at the top of the valley, toward Viale Aventino, in early morning, when the sun lights up the ruins of the imperial palaces. Anyone entering the archaeological area can frame the Moletta tower with the hemicycle in front, remembering that the Sovrintendenza places in the center of the hemicycle the spot of the ancient Arch of Titus.

Third choice: the square of the Mouth of Truth with the two temples of the Forum Boarium, photographed from the river side, so as to have the round Temple of Hercules Victor in the foreground and the bell tower of Santa Maria in Cosmedin behind. Here traffic is constant and the good moments are early Sunday morning or the evening. An overcast day works better than full sun, which flattens the marble of the temples.

The fourth is Tiber Island shot from Lungotevere dei Pierleoni or from Ponte Sisto farther upstream, with the ship shape that the tourist portal recalls: in antiquity the island was fitted out with a stern, a prow and an obelisk in the center as a mast. In winter, with the river high and the light low, the image works better than in summer. People should be photographed only with their consent, especially near the hospital.

How do you get there from the center of Rome?

The most direct way is metro Line B, Circo Massimo stop, given by the Circo Maximo Experience website as the reference station for Viale Aventino entrance. From the stop you see the Circus valley, and in a few minutes you reach the archaeological area. The bus and tram lines that cross the rione change with roadworks and new timetables. For the route of the day it's best to use the planner on the ATAC website or call 060608.

On foot from the historic center the route is simple. From Piazza Venezia you go down Via del Teatro di Marcello, which is already the boundary of the rione, to Piazza della Bocca della Verità. Alternatively, from the Ghetto and rione Sant'Angelo you go through Piazza di Monte Savello and follow the Lungotevere. From Trastevere you cross the river on Ponte Cestio, walk across Tiber Island and exit onto Ponte Fabricio.

By car the area is difficult. The historic center is largely a limited traffic zone, on the Aventine parking is scarce and largely reserved for residents, and around the Circus Maximus traffic is heavy. The operator of the city sites doesn't list dedicated parking. The bicycle is a good solution for the Circus valley and the Lungotevere, less so for the Aventine climbs, which are short but steep and with an uneven surface in some stretches.

Anyone who has trouble walking needs to count the climbs. Clivo di Rocca Savella, the climb that connects the Lungotevere to Parco Savello, is steep and is best avoided with strollers or baby carriages. Rome Capital's page on Parco Savello gives an entrance accessible to people with disabilities, and the Circo Maximo Experience states that the visit is accessible. For the special opening of the hemicycle in June 2026, however, the Sovrintendenza had specified that access was not possible in a wheelchair.

Some important events that happened here in history

According to the Rome Capital tourist portal, the Cloaca Maxima was built between 534 and 509 BC by order of Tarquinius Superbus, and in the time of the Tarquins the Murcia valley was set aside for chariot races. In 291 BC the cult of Aesculapius arrived on Tiber Island. Ponte Fabricio, also called Ponte Quattro Capi, was built in 62 BC, and Ponte Cestio in 46 BC according to the same source.

In the imperial age the Circus Maximus was rebuilt in masonry by Julius Caesar and then almost entirely by Trajan. In 357 AD, according to the tourist portal, an obelisk meant for the circus arrived in Rome. In the sixth century the races ended. In the Middle Ages the upper part of the rione stayed almost uninhabited, with fortified monasteries and the fortress of the Savelli, erected between 1285 and 1287 on a 10th-century castle of the Crescenzi, according to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina.

In 1584 the Fatebenefratelli hospital was founded on the island. In 1632 the Mouth of Truth was placed in the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, according to the tourist portal. From 1645 the area of the present Rose Garden hosted the Jewish cemetery. In 1921 a city council resolution split Testaccio and San Saba off from the rione. In 1932 Raffaele De Vico created Parco Savello on the vegetable garden of the Dominican friars of Santa Sabina, turning it into a public viewpoint, according to the Sovrintendenza.

In 1934 the Jewish cemetery was transferred to the Verano, and after the war the Rose Garden was rebuilt on the area. Every May it hosts the international Premio Roma competition for new rose varieties, founded in 1933, according to the City. Between 1936 and 1939 the Anagrafe building was built on Via Luigi Petroselli. In 2016 the archaeological investigations at the Circus Maximus ended. On Sunday, June 14, 2026 the Sovrintendenza opened for the first time a portion of the hemicycle on the Aventine side.

Who has passed through Rione Ripa

The first names are those of kings and builders. Tarquinius Superbus, to whom the Rome Capital tourist portal attributes the Cloaca Maxima and the use of the valley for races. Julius Caesar, who gave the circus its first masonry structure. Trajan, who rebuilt it after the fires. And then the builders of the island's two bridges, Fabricio of 62 BC and Cestio of 46 BC, according to the tourist portal's dates, which still connect the two banks today.

Then the baronial families of the Middle Ages. The Crescenzi, who according to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina built a castle on the Aventine in the 10th century, and with whom encyclopedia sources also associate the medieval house on Via Luigi Petroselli. The Savelli, who between 1285 and 1287 erected their fortress next to Santa Sabina. Of that fortress what remains are the walls that today enclose Parco Savello, the garden that still bears their name.

The religious orders have left a strong mark. The Dominicans of Santa Sabina, with the vegetable garden that became a public garden and the orange tree tied to the tradition of Saint Dominic, who according to the Sovrintendenza preached next to an orange tree. The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, the Fatebenefratelli, on the island since the 16th century. The Order of Malta, with the magistral villa in Piazza dei Cavalieri. The Greek Melkite community, which today celebrates in Santa Maria in Cosmedin.

The 20th century brings public names and communities. Raffaele De Vico, the architect of the city gardens, author of Parco Savello in 1932. The Jewish community of Rome, which for almost three centuries buried its dead on the slopes of the Aventine, before the transfer to the Verano in 1934. And the millions of visitors to the Mouth of Truth, drawn by a legend that the tourist portal traces back at least to 1485: the mask would bite the hand of anyone who lies.

What do the documents say and what does the legend say?

What the documents say about the Mouth of Truth: it is a large marble disc with a bearded male face, with eyes, nose and mouth pierced. The basilica's website gives a diameter of 175 centimeters and a thickness of 20, while the Rome Capital tourist portal speaks of about a meter and 80 centimeters. It has been in the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin since 1632. The most likely original function, according to the tourist portal, was that of a Roman-era drain cover.

What tradition says: the mask would bite the hand of anyone who swears falsely. According to the Rome Capital tourist portal the legend of the name goes back to 1485, and since then it has never stopped circulating. The line in front of the grille comes from this story, repeated for centuries. There is no hidden mechanism, only an ancient, heavy stone with a slit where the mouth is.

On Tiber Island the legendary layer is even older. The tourist portal tells that, during the plague of 291 BC, the Roman delegates came back from Epidaurus with a sacred snake, which jumped from the ship and took refuge on the island. At that spot the temple of Aesculapius was built. The historical document is the cult of the god on the island, the ship and the snake belong to the tale, and the ship shape given to the island is its translation into stone.

There remains an intermediate level, that of attributions. The Cloaca Maxima attributed to Tarquinius Superbus, the Tarquins' races in the Murcia valley, the port of Ripa Grande as the origin of the name: these are data that official sources report as consolidated tradition, but that scholars debate in the details. In the text they are presented with the source next to them. Anyone who wants to go deeper into the city under the city will find among our pages the one on Underground Rome.

How do you organize a walking itinerary in the rione?

The most complete route crosses the rione from southeast to northwest. You start from the Circo Massimo stop, visit the archaeological area if it is open, then climb toward the Aventine via Via di Valle Murcia or Clivo dei Publicii, where you find the entrances to the Rose Garden given by the tourist portal. From there Via di Santa Sabina leads to the basilica, Parco Savello, Santi Bonifacio e Alessio and Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta.

From Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta you go down toward the river by Clivo di Rocca Savella, or you go back toward Via di Santa Sabina and go down along the streets of the hill. At the bottom you reach Lungotevere Aventino and, turning north, Piazza della Bocca della Verità. Here are concentrated Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the temples of the Forum Boarium, the Arch of Janus, San Giorgio in Velabro and, a little farther, the church of San Giovanni Decollato.

From the square, following the river along Lungotevere dei Pierleoni, you meet the House of the Crescenzi on Via Luigi Petroselli and the Anagrafe building. In the same area is the Mithraeum of the Circus Maximus, underground, with visiting arrangements described in its dedicated page. Farther on, along Via del Teatro di Marcello, at the edge of the rione, you see the basilica of San Nicola in Carcere.

The last stop is Tiber Island, reached from Ponte Fabricio. On the island are the church of San Bartolomeo, which according to the tourist portal preserves a 12th-century Romanesque bell tower, and the Fatebenefratelli hospital. From the island you can continue toward Trastevere on Ponte Cestio, or go back toward the Ghetto and the Synagogue. In all it's a few kilometers, with two short but steep climbs.

Anyone with only two hours can do a short version. You start from Piazza della Bocca della Verità, go into Santa Maria in Cosmedin, look at the temples of the Forum Boarium and the Arch of Janus, then climb to Parco Savello by Clivo di Rocca Savella and arrive at Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta. The return toward the metro goes through the Circus Maximus valley. It's the loop that puts together the ancient port, the hill and the circus without too much hurry.

When is it closed and what shouldn't you expect?

The rione as an urban space never closes. Individual places close. The Circus Maximus archaeological area is closed on Monday, December 25 and May 1, according to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina. Parco Savello closes in the evening, at 18:00 from October through February. The municipal Rose Garden opens only in specific periods of the year: in 2026 the spring reopening ran from April 11 to June 14, and for other dates the City publishes notices from time to time.

For the Rose Garden the reference, according to the Rome Capital tourist portal, is the number 06 5746810, active Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 12:00, or the email address rosetoromacapitale@comune.roma.it. The entrances given are at Clivo dei Publicii 3 and at Via di Valle Murcia 6. Anyone who arrives outside the opening periods finds the gates closed, and the view of the flower beds from outside is partial. Before climbing up on purpose it's best to ask.

Churches have hours decided by the religious communities, which change with the seasons, holidays and services. For Santa Maria in Cosmedin the tourist portal gives hours from 9:30 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:50, warning that they may vary. The basilica's website doesn't publish a cost for the photo at the Mouth of Truth. For the other churches in the rione the hours are found in our dedicated pages or can be asked at the parish.

What shouldn't you expect? A rione full of shops and workshops: the upper part is residential and quiet, the lower part is crossed by traffic. Free visible excavations in the Circus valley: the preserved part is inside the fenced area. Free access to the Villa del Priorato di Malta: you look from the square. And not the Palatine or the Theater of Marcellus either, which are seen very well but belong to neighboring rioni.

Eating in the area

On the Aventine there are few places, because the hill is residential and conventual. In the lower part, around the Mouth of Truth and the Circus Maximus, the offer is designed largely for people passing quickly from one monument to another. Here traps exist, and the signs are always the same: the barker on the sidewalk, the menu with photos of the dishes, items without a price, a different menu outside and inside, the kitchen open all day without a break.

Another sign to recognize is the window with the lady rolling fresh pasta in front of passersby. It is not a crime, it is a stage set, and often the pasta that reaches the table is not the one in the window. Then there are the places in front of monuments that adjust the price to the customer. Romans don't go there because the quality depends on tourist traffic and not on regular customers, who are few on these streets.

The practical rule is to move a few streets away from the most famous squares and choose where you see local people at lunch, with a short menu that changes often and clear prices. Toward Testaccio, beyond Via Marmorata, the offer is more tied to neighborhood life. On the island and toward Trastevere the foot traffic is heavy and the same cautions apply. For addresses chosen with care there is the list of addresses on Google Maps.

If you prefer to eat outdoors, you find shaded benches in Parco Savello and lawns in the Circus Maximus valley, with the rules of city green spaces: no glass, no fires, trash taken away. In summer water is essential, and the city's public fountains help. Among our pages, the one on Rome's nasoni explains how they work. On days of big events at the Circus Maximus the lawns can be fenced off.

What to combine in a day

The rione borders some of the most visited places in Rome, and the pairing comes naturally. To the north, beyond Via di San Teodoro, are the Palatine and the Roman Forum, with the Colosseum Archaeological Park ticket. To the northwest, climbing from Via del Teatro di Marcello, the Capitoline Hill and the Capitoline Museums. A whole day of ancient Rome can begin at the Mouth of Truth and end at the Colosseum.

Toward the north, beyond Piazza di Monte Savello, you enter rione Sant'Angelo, described in the page Rione Sant'Angelo: What to See, with the Ghetto and Portico d'Ottavia. Farther along is rione Regola, described in Rione Regola: What to See. Across the river, from the island, Trastevere and the climb to the Janiculum, which offers the same view as Parco Savello from the opposite side.

Toward the south the rione continues into Testaccio and Ostiense. Beyond Via Marmorata you find the slaughterhouse district, the Pyramid of Cestius and Porta San Paolo, and farther on the Centrale Montemartini, with ancient sculptures from the Capitoline Museums among the machines of a power plant. The page Ostiense tells about the industrial district and the street art. It's a route that connects ancient Rome to the 20th century.

Toward the east, beyond Viale Aventino and Piazza di Porta Capena, are the Baths of Caracalla and the Caelian, described in Caelian: What to See. For more zero-cost ideas there are the pages Free Rome and Rome with Kids. Anyone who wants to understand the defensive system of the archaic city finds in the page on the Servian Walls a stretch that runs right on the Aventine.

Frequently asked questions

What are the boundaries of Rione Ripa?

According to the Rome Capital tourist portal the rione is bounded by Piazza di Monte Savello, Via del Teatro di Marcello, Vico Jugario, Via dei Fienili, Via di San Teodoro, Via dei Cerchi, Piazza di Porta Capena, Viale Aventino, Piazza Albania, Via and Largo Manlio Gelsomini, Via Marmorata, Piazza dell'Emporio, Lungotevere Aventino and Lungotevere dei Pierleoni. It includes the greater Aventine, the Circus Maximus, the Velabrum, the Forum Boarium and Tiber Island.

Are Rione Ripa and the Aventine the same thing?

No. The greater Aventine, with Santa Sabina, Parco Savello and Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, is part of Rione Ripa, but the rione also includes the Circus Maximus valley, the area of the Mouth of Truth, the Velabrum and Tiber Island. The Piccolo Aventino, with San Saba and Santa Balbina, belongs instead to rione San Saba, split off from Ripa in 1921 with a city council resolution.

How much does it cost to visit the Circus Maximus?

The Circus Maximus valley can be crossed for free. The fenced archaeological area, with the Moletta tower and the hemicycle, costs €7 full price and €4 reduced for non-residents, and is free for residents of Rome and the metropolitan area with ID and for MIC card holders, according to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina. The Circo Maximo Experience augmented reality visit costs €12, reduced €10.

Can you visit the Mouth of Truth for free?

The website of the basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin doesn't publish a cost for getting close to the mask, which is in the church's portico. The Rome Capital tourist portal gives hours for the basilica from 9:30 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:50, with possible changes, and the number 06 6787759. At peak hours the line for the photo is long, and it's best to arrive at opening.

When is Parco Savello, the Orange Garden, open?

According to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina and the Rome Capital page, Parco Savello opens at 7:00 and closes at 18:00 from October through February, at 20:00 in March and September, at 21:00 from April to August. Entry is free. The entrances are in Piazza Pietro d'Illiria, in Via di Santa Sabina and from Clivo di Rocca Savella, the stairway that climbs from the Lungotevere. The surface area is 7,800 square meters.

Is Tiber Island part of Rione Ripa?

Yes. The Rome Capital tourist portal lists Tiber Island among the main places of Rione Ripa, and encyclopedia sources list among the buildings of the rione the hospital on the island and the church of San Bartolomeo. The boundary with rione Sant'Angelo passes through Piazza di Monte Savello, while Trastevere begins on the other bank, beyond Ponte Cestio.

Which metro stop is for Rione Ripa?

The reference stop is Circo Massimo, on Line B, given by the Circo Maximo Experience website. From there you can walk to the Circus valley, the entrance of the archaeological area on Viale Aventino and the climbs toward the Aventine. For the Mouth of Truth and Tiber Island it's best to check the day's bus lines with the ATAC planner or by calling 060608.

Is the municipal Rose Garden open all year?

No. The municipal Rose Garden opens only in specific periods. In 2026 the spring reopening ran from April 11 to June 14, from 8:30 to 19:30 with free entry, according to the Rome Capital tourist portal. For other openings the reference is the number 06 5746810, Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 12:00, or the email rosetoromacapitale@comune.roma.it. The entrances are at Clivo dei Publicii 3 and at Via di Valle Murcia 6.

Who wrote this and from what sources

The text comes from the team at Tour Leader Pro, the Rome-based outfit that designs itineraries, visits and cultural events across Rome and Lazio. Fares, hours and access arrangements given here come from the official sources cited in the text as of the date given at the start. For the boundaries of the rione the authority is the Rome Capital tourist portal page, and for the Circus Maximus the Sovrintendenza Capitolina pages. Tell us what you find has changed.

Organizing a day in Rione Ripa for a group means working on the fit of the pieces: the limited-capacity entry to the Circus Maximus, the closing days, the Aventine climbs, church hours, the line at the Mouth of Truth, the time to cross the island. For anyone planning outings of this kind, a useful resource for people who organize group travel is Tour Leader Pro, with tools designed to coordinate visits and itineraries.

Rione Ripa is a doorway onto the Rome of the origins, between the river, the market and the circus, and onto the centuries of the convents and the baronial families. Putting together the rioni of the center, the Appian Way, ancient Ostia and maybe the Castelli Romani takes a few days and some planning, and a useful resource for building a multi-day itinerary is Italy Planner.