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Esquilino, Rome: Termini, piazza Vittorio and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

Esquilino, Rome

Esquilino is the fifteenth of Rome's twenty-two rioni by toponymic code, R. XV, and it lies in Municipio Roma I. Termini station stands in it, and so does piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, the porticoed square laid out under the 1873 master plan and built from 1880, with a Severan fountain and a seventeenth-century alchemical doorway standing in its garden. Against the Aurelian Walls on piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme are a basilica, a Roman amphitheatre built into the wall line, the remains of an imperial palace and its circus, and three museums. Elsewhere in the rione are churches from the thirteenth century to 1928, a gate of the Servian Walls now called the Arco di Gallieno, two Roman nymphaea and the Scala Santa. Via Merulana is the line with the rione Monti: its east side is Esquilino, its west side is not.

  1. Opened in 1863, rebuilt in 1873 and again in 1950; the present front block is by Eugenio Montuori and Annibale Vitellozzi.

  2. The porticoed square built from 1880, 325 by 185 metres, its garden opened to the public on Sunday 10 July 1889 and reopened on 31 October 2020.

  3. A doorway carved with alchemical inscriptions, built between 1655 and 1681 for the marchese Massimiliano Savelli Palombara and flanked by two statues of the god Bes.

  4. An excavated sector of the Horti Lamiani under the ENPAM palazzo, opened to the public on 6 November 2021.

  5. A nymphaeum of the Horti Maecenatis in the garden at largo Leopardi; accompanied groups only, thirty people a visit, booking obligatory on 060608.

  6. A gate of the earliest circuit of the Servian Walls, rebuilt saxo quadrato in 378 BC and now abutted by the church of Santi Vito e Modesto.

  7. Twenty-eight marble steps sheathed in wood, climbed on the knees, in the complex Domenico Fontana built for Sixtus V in 1589.

  8. One of the Seven Churches of the old pilgrimage circuit; its own site gives 7:30 to 19:00, free entry and no booking.

  9. An amphitheatre of 218-222 AD, 88 by 75.80 metres, cut in half by the Aurelian Walls and turned into a forward bastion by blocking its façade arches.

  10. Tuesday to Sunday 09:30 to 19:30, last entry 18:30; 6.00 euro full, 2.00 euro reduced, free under 18 and on the first Sunday of every month.

  11. A domed hall of the early fourth century, 24 metres high today and 32 originally, standing among the railway approaches on via Giolitti.

  12. A museum of the Nazi-Fascist occupation of Rome, in the former SS prison cells at Via Tasso 145.

  13. A gelateria in the former villino liberty Calderai-Torlonia on via Principe Eugenio, with two semifreddi named on its own site, the sanpietrino and the caterinetta.

  14. The covered market in the former Caserma Sani, with entrances on via Principe Amedeo, via Mamiani, via Turati and via Lamarmora.

Getting there

Stazione di Roma Termini stands inside the rione, on piazza dei Cinquecento, which is also a bus terminus: it.wikipedia records 25 daytime lines, including trolleybus line 90, and 13 night lines, with the tram 5 and 14 terminus between via Cavour and via Daniele Manin. The main part of the rebuilt square reopened on 14 January 2025 and the works are programmed to complete in summer 2026, so the layout will keep changing. For the rione's southern churches, the friary of Sant'Antonio da Padova gives its own approaches as metro A at Manzoni, metro B at Colosseo, and tram 3 at Manzoni/Merulana.

Beyond that, steer by addresses. Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 78 for the Museo Ninfeo and 12/A for the church of Sant'Eusebio. Via Principe Amedeo 184 for the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino, which has four entrances, on via Principe Amedeo, via Mamiani, via Turati and via Lamarmora. Via Merulana 121 for Palazzo Merulana and 124 for the basilica of Sant'Antonio da Padova. Largo Leopardi for the Auditorium di Mecenate, and via di San Vito for the Arco di Gallieno and the church of Santi Vito e Modesto, whose parish address is via Carlo Alberto 47. Piazza Manfredo Fanti 47 for the Acquario Romano.

On piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme the numbers run close together: 9/A for the Museo nazionale degli strumenti musicali, 9 for the Museo storico della fanteria and 7 for the Museo storico dei granatieri di Sardegna. Then via Tasso 145 for the Museo storico della Liberazione, viale Manzoni 47 for Villa Altieri, via Giovanni Giolitti 154 for Santa Bibiana, via Guglielmo Pepe 45 for the Teatro Ambra Jovinelli, and via Principe Eugenio 65/67 for the Palazzo del Freddo Giovanni Fassi.

Opening hours, tickets and booking

Four places in the rione publish hours, and they are the ones to plan around. The Museo nazionale degli strumenti musicali gives Tuesday to Sunday 09:30 to 19:30, last entry 18:30, at 6.00 euro full and 2.00 euro reduced for 18- to 25-year-olds who are EU students, free under 18 and free on the first Sunday of every month, and it is in the Roma Pass and Roma & Più Pass circuit. Palazzo Merulana gives hourly entry slots from 12:00 to 20:00 Wednesday to Friday and 10:00 to 20:00 on Saturday and Sunday, last entry 19:00 on both, with its sculpture hall, CafeCulture and BookCulture open Wednesday to Sunday 09:00 to 20:00 and free to enter. The basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme gives 7:30 to 19:00 and states that entry is free and needs no booking, and that tourist visits are not permitted during liturgical celebrations. The museum inside the basilica, entered from the sacristy, opens every day 10:00 to 12:00 and 16:00 to 17:30.

Three Roman sites are entered by appointment rather than at a door. The Sovrintendenza Capitolina allows the Auditorium di Mecenate to accompanied groups only, a maximum of thirty people per visit, with booking obligatory on 060608 between 09:00 and 19:00, and individual visits on a published calendar by booking on the same number; the Sepolcri repubblicani di via Statilia work the same way with a maximum of fifteen. The Ninfeo di Alessandro, the ruin called the Trofei di Mario in the piazza Vittorio garden, is given as visitable on request on the same number, and the Ipogeo degli Aureli as visitable on request. The parish of Sant'Eusebio runs a bookable guided-visit programme with two itineraries, including an underground archaeological area.

Two cautions. The Museo storico della fanteria on piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is recorded by Italian Wikipedia as closed since 2023, with part of its spaces used for art exhibitions, citing la Repubblica of 14 January 2025 and imuseidiroma.it. And the monastic garden inside the oval of the Anfiteatro Castrense is not a public park: the basilica's own site states that it is held on concession by the parish, is used for pastoral activities, and that free access by visitors is not allowed. For the Scala Santa, the Museo Ninfeo, Villa Altieri and the Museo storico dei granatieri di Sardegna, no source states opening hours, so none are given here.

Frequently asked questions

Is Santa Maria Maggiore in Esquilino?
No. The basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore stands in the rione Monti, and so does the obelisk behind it. The rione line runs through the square in front of the basilica. The fountain standing on that square is a separate object, which it.wikipedia files in the rione Esquilino.
Is Termini station in Esquilino?
Yes. Stazione di Roma Termini stands in the rione Esquilino, on piazza dei Cinquecento. The square itself is a straddle: its own source places it on the border between Esquilino and Castro Pretorio. The monument to the dead of the battle of Dogali that stands on the square is in Castro Pretorio.
Is the Scala Santa part of the Vatican?
No. The Scala Santa stands on piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, in the rione Esquilino, on Italian soil. The Holy See's own published list of its extraterritorial properties in Rome names it in its first item, «il complesso di S. Giovanni in Laterano (Basilica, Palazzo Apostolico Lateranense con gli edifici annessi e la Scala Santa)», and Annex II, Tavola 1 of the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929 names it too. Article 15 of that treaty provides that such property, «benché facenti parte del territorio dello Stato italiano» — although forming part of the territory of the Italian State — enjoys the immunities that international law grants to the seats of the diplomatic agents of foreign States. It is not Vatican City, it is not a border, and a visitor there is under Italian law.
What has to be booked in advance?
The Auditorium di Mecenate at largo Leopardi and the Sepolcri repubblicani di via Statilia are both open to accompanied groups only, thirty people a visit for the first and fifteen for the second, with booking obligatory on 060608 between 09:00 and 19:00; individual visits are possible on a published calendar by booking on the same number. The Ninfeo di Alessandro in the piazza Vittorio garden and the Ipogeo degli Aureli on via Luzzatti are both given as visitable on request, and the parish of Sant'Eusebio runs a bookable guided-visit programme with two itineraries.
Which museums in the rione publish prices?
One. The Museo nazionale degli strumenti musicali, at Piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 9/A, gives 6.00 euro full and 2.00 euro reduced for 18- to 25-year-olds who are EU students, free under 18 and free on the first Sunday of every month, and telephone +39 06 7014796. Palazzo Merulana publishes hours and entry slots but no admission price. For the Museo Ninfeo, Villa Altieri and the two military museums on piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, no admission prices are stated, so none are given here.
Can you go inside the Anfiteatro Castrense?
No visiting terms are published for the amphitheatre, and its oval is occupied by the monastic garden of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which the basilica's own site says is held on concession by the parish, used for pastoral activities, and not open to free access by visitors. What you can see is the outside: the Aurelian Walls cut the amphitheatre in half and turned it into a forward bastion by blocking the arches of its façade, and the wall line runs past it on viale Castrense.

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