Prati

During the Roman Empire, the area mainly consisted of vineyards and rushes and took the name of Horti Domitii, being owned by Domitia Longina, the wife of Domitian. The area was later called also Prata Neronis and in the Middle Ages it was known as Prata Sancti Petri (St. Peter's Fields), referring to the nearby basilica.

Until 1883 the whole borough was a vast expanse of fields, meadows, pastures and wetlands, with just a few farmhouses, chiefly on the slopes of Monte Mario. All the names by which the area has been called over time denote it as a wild, flat and deserted grassland: Pianella di Prati, Pianella d'Oltretevere and Prati di Castello, the latter referring to Castel Sant'Angelo.

In 1873 cardinal Xavier de Mérode, who owned a great portion of the area, signed an agreement with the municipality, in order to start the construction of the new district, however the first urban interventions began only in 1883, when the area was officially included in the new city plan. The borough, however, remained marginal because of the lack of infrastructures, and de Mérode himself paid for the creation of an iron bridge near the Porto di Ripetta, later dismantled after the inauguration of Ponte Umberto I. Mayor Ernesto Nathan, between 1907 and 1914, started to deal with the administrative and urban problems of the district, originating from the exceptional development of the city. In 1921 the rione was officially established: it was intended to host administrative offices of the newborn Kingdom of Italy and residences of civil servants coming from all over Italy.

Piazza del Risorgimento.

The road scheme was planned in order that from none of the new roads the dome of St. Peter's Basilica could be visible in the background, because of the tense relationship between the new kingdom and the Holy See. Also toponymy is a proof of it, since roads and squares were named after prominent leaders of the Roman Republic and Empire, pagan writers and scholars, heroes of the Risorgimento. In 1911 the main road of the rione was dedicated to Cola di Rienzo, the popular leader who in the 14th century tried to establish a republican government in Rome.

During the construction works, a large amount of ground and fill was carried in the area, in order to create a difference in altitude and to protect the new district from the Tiber floods, that were very common in the past. As the ground employed was mainly clayey, the new buildings often needed stabilization works, and the Palace of Justice had to be reinforced many times to avoid it collapsed because of its size.

The first buildings arose alongside the Lungotevere dei Mellini and Via Vittoria Colonna. The urbanization of Prati proceeded until the first half of the 20th century, however modern buildings have lately taken the place of the original houses and many buildings have been raised and expanded over time. Wide roads set up in a geometrical scheme, elegant Stile Umbertino buildings and Art Nouveau cottages currently distinguishes Prati: born as a public housing district to host civil servants coming from all over Italy, it now claims to be a bourgeois district, and its thoroughfare, Via Cola di Rienzo, one of the most famous streets in Rome, is consistently ranked among the most important shopping streets in the city.

The main roads of the rione are Via Cola di Rienzo and the rectilinear way formed by Via Cicerone, Via Marcantonio Colonna and Via Lepanto. The said roads are the center of the commercial life of Prati, along with Viale Giulio Cesare, Via Ottaviano and Via Germanico.