The heart of Trastevere beats around its most famous piazza, where the fountain steps are never empty, and the golden mosaics of one of Rome's oldest basilicas glow behind them.
עודכן לאחרונה 23 באוגוסט 2026
In a nutshell: the piazza and its basilica are the soul of Trastevere, and the alleys around them hold the neighbourhood's oldest secrets. For the full picture start with the district overview, climb the Gianicolo for the view, browse Porta Portese or head out for food and nightlife.
The piazza dominated by the church that gives it its name is one of the neighbourhood's favourite places to hang out, chat and enjoy the slow life, even if only for a few minutes. It mills with locals and tourists at every hour of the day, and especially of the night, which makes it the perfect setting to sit down and do some people-watching before jumping back into sightseeing.
Besides the basilica and the adjacent San Callisto palace, which belongs to the Holy See, the square's most distinctive feature is its fountain, whose steps are predictably dotted with people. The fountain, named after the square named after the church, is one of the oldest in Rome, even though it has been through its fair share of restorations. It seems to date all the way back to the age of Augustus, when it was fed by the same reservoir of water used to stage naval battles. Bernini left his mark here too: commissioned around 1658 to renovate it, he raised the fountain with the help of some steps and added the heraldic symbols of Pope Alexander VII, as well as the four shells that still decorate it today.
Tip: Come at dusk: the piazza is at its most atmospheric once the church lights come on and the evening crowd takes over the fountain steps.
It pays to look down as you walk through Trastevere, and not only because the picturesque cobblestones can be treacherous and slippery when wet. Among the regular stones you will sometimes find a gilded pietra d'inciampo, or stumbling stone. Every one of these bronze squares is engraved with the name of a Jewish Roman citizen and marks the spot where that person was arrested by Nazi troops during WWII and deported to one of the Reich's concentration camps. Many of the stones appear in groups, marking the places where entire families were taken.
Always packed, and rightfully so: it serves all the great staples of Roman cuisine with flair.
A tiny, somewhat hidden trattoria whose dishes are sourced only from nearby farms in Lazio.
Great place to sit down and enjoy everything from carbonara to fried artichokes in the heart of the neighbourhood.
Loved by both locals and visitors, perfect for platefuls of Roman standards.
If your visit falls in the second half of July, do not miss the celebration that sweeps through Trastevere and makes its streets livelier than ever. Tradition says that the Festa de' Noantri (check festadenoantri.it for dates), whose name means 'our celebration', as in one for Trastevere locals rather than the people of other neighbourhoods, dates to 1535. In that year a statue of the Virgin Mary was fished out of the River Tiber and entrusted first to the Basilica di San Crisogono, becoming the patron of the entire neighbourhood in the process.
That statue now lives in the Chiesa di Sant'Agata in Trastevere, and it is from there that every 16 July a procession carries it to visit its first home in San Crisogono before returning to Sant'Agata. After a week, the statue embarks on a second procession, this time on the Tiber, to commemorate where it was originally found: it sails up to Ponte Garibaldi and then remains for a night in the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, which marks the end of the celebrations. Besides the very picturesque religious aspect, the days of the Festa mean that street vendors and performances flourish in every corner of the neighbourhood, drawing locals and tourists alike.
Glittering with dazzling 12th-century mosaics, this is one of the oldest basilicas in Rome to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Once said to stand on the site of a miraculous oil fountain, it remains one of the most important churches in the whole of Trastevere.
Tip: The best times to visit are early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when natural light truly enhances the church's beauty.
A triumph of mosaics: tradition says the first version of the church was founded in the 3rd century CE and concluded in the 4th. What you see today is the result of a complete 12th-century revamp, which included adding 24 Roman columns taken from the Baths of Caracalla and stunning mosaics, the true crown jewel of the basilica, found both inside and high up on the facade. The portico was added only at the beginning of the 18th century, with various pieces of Roman marble forming an informal mosaic of sorts to echo the ones inside. Tradition also holds that the church was built on the exact spot of a wondrous fountain that supposedly sprouted oil rather than water; you can still see the location inside, marked with the words Fons Olei on a balustrade to the right of the altar. Scholars, however, believe the miracle might actually have been pollution: not fons olei, 'oil fountain', but fons olidus, 'polluted fountain', because the water came from the same reservoirs used to stage mock naval battles in local arenas.
The best way to really soak in Trastevere's unique feel is by getting lost in its myriad little streets and alleys. This short walking tour runs from Via Titta Scarpetta to Vicolo del Cedro and takes about 40 minutes over 1.1 km.
A cluster of churches dots the streets of Trastevere, all with their own peculiarities and unique history. This short circuit runs from the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Scala to the Chiesa di San Francesco a Ripa, about 1.6 km and 40 minutes on foot.