Antico Borgo San Lazzaro

You arrive here if you live here or by mistake...but either way, you can't help but be happy, even though its appearance is increasingly less original and more influenced by the present. A narrow street of less than two hundred meters encompasses what remains—and its name is evidence of this—of the ancient village of Vignaioli (wine growers, because they were dedicated to tending the vineyards in the true sense of the word). The first evidence of dwellings at this point, where the Trionfale begins its climb toward Monte Mario, dates back to the Middle Ages and is due to the intense pilgrimage on the Via Francigena, which ended here. A post station was originally built here, on the grounds of one of the many rustic villas surrounding Rome. Starting in the 10th century, an oratory and a sacred shrine were built, right where two centuries later Domenico Garrison (known as Gargonza) decided to build a church dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene with an adjoining hospice. This church was perhaps transformed into a lazaretto two centuries later, when the name of the church's patron saint also changed. In the meantime, the church had become very popular, just like the tavern next door. Many popes and emperors passed through and stopped in these parts when making their triumphal entrances into the city, and the church remained active until the last century, when it fell into disgrace and a restoration process had to wait until the late 1900s. In the meantime, however, the city had developed and incorporated the small village, of which some strongly medieval elements remain, in addition to the church. The adjacent citadel of justice compresses its structure, but some characteristic facades of the village remain, while a parking lot was built where the lazaretto once stood in the 1970s (it had all collapsed, and only the front facade remains intact). It feels like you're in some alleyway in Trastevere and is worth a visit if you're in the area. Need some useful info? Leave a like and check out the other reviews.