Regola (rione of Rome)

Regola is the VII rione of Rome. The name comes from "Arenula", (the name is present in the modern "Via Arenula") that was the name of the soft sand ("rena" in Italian) that the river Tiber left after the floods, and which built strands on the left bank. The logo of the rione is a rampant deer with a turquoise background.

During the Roman empire, the area belonged to the Campus Martius. In particular, in the modern Regola there was the "Trigarium", the stadium where the riders of the "triga" (a cart with three horses) used to train.

Augustus divided Rome into 14 regions; according to this, the modern Regola belonged to the IX region called "Circus Flaminius". In the Middle Ages it entered the IV of the 7 ecclesiastic regions, even if at that time the limits of the rioni were not very clear.

Also because of the very frequent floods of the river Tiber, the area was unhealthy and it was drained at the end of the Middle Ages.

In 1586, when rione Borgo was made, the number of rioni increased to 14 and Regola became the VII with the name of "Arenule et Chacabariorum".In 1875, after the walls to stop the floods of the Tiber were built, the look of the area changed completely, removing all the things that grew up close to the river during the centuries.

Though small, the rione contains many kinds of buildings: palaces, hospitals, churches, embassies, run down prisons and dirty poor houses.

External links

* [http://mp_pollett.tripod.com/rione07.htm History, maps and images of the rione]