The almost unpaved road, the row of recently planted saplings. And, in the background, the first counsil houses peeping out. Viale Jonio in the 1940s is almost unrecognisable. The photo, kept in the Parish of Santa Maria Assunta al Tufello, is taken from the Typimedia Editore volume “Come Eravamo Montesacro”.
Families crossing the threshold of the first council flats, at the end of 1940, found themselves in front of very poor houses with no amenities. Almost in the middle of nowhere. The only roads ready are Viale Jonio and Via delle Vigne Nuove, the others are all still to be built. And one has the impression of still being outside the city.
Today it is the beating heart of the district, overlooked by the municipal headquarters and the church of the Santi Angeli Custodi, where the statue of the Madonnina stands, which has been for many months at the centre of a dispute over its possible relocation under the restyling project wanted by the Caudo administration. But what did Piazza Sempione originally look like?
This incredible shot, taken from the volume “Come Eravamo Montesacro” by Typimedia Editore, shows it. The photo, from the early 1920s, shows the building barracks in the square and, in the background on the left, the historic Nomentano bridge can also be seen. We are truly at the origins of this district, when herds were still grazing at the gates of this territory, as some older resident historians will recall.
The birth of “Città Giardino Aniene” emerged through the initiative of a consortium between the municipality, the National Housing Union and the Council Housing Institute of Rome. Work began in 1920, based on a project by architect Gustavo Giovannoni, and the target group envisaged for this area was part of the middle class: civil servants and professionals.
WATCH: How to buy the volume “Come Eravamo Montesacro” (How We Were Montesacro)
WATCH: All the volumes in the series “Come Eravamo”
