There's Rome and then there's this Rome

After 2 days of crazy crowds and even crazier drivers it was time to leave the city centre and visit a neighbourhood or two. We caught the metro from Termini and jumped off at Piramide. Needless to say, the first thing you see at Piramide station is a pyramid! Dating back to about 12BC it was built for the Roman politician Gaius Cestius Epulon. Call me spoilt, but I'm over ancient ruins at the moment, so it was time to move on and check out what we had come to find in this area.
First port of call was Mercato Testaccio, about a ten minute walk from the Piramide. The market is built above a Roman archaeological site and contains 100 plus gourmet and fresh food stores. There's also some market tat, but it's best ignored. We ate at La Cucinari Trovata a groovy little pasta and wine bar run by two super cool guys. The food and booze is terrific and the owners are passionate about their product. It's also very reasonably priced, so you can't go wrong!
Next stop was the old slaughterhouse or Mattatoio, for those who prefer a less confronting version of the meatworks. It's directly behind the market and has been taken over by the university with architectural and fine arts seeming to be the specialised areas. The re purposing of the site maintains its authenticity and you can pretty quickly get a sense of what went on here not so long ago. The slaughterhouse dated back to the latter part of the 19th century and closed in 1975. The university had pretty much taken control of the site by 2010. Definitely worth a look after lunch at Mercato Testaccio.
A little more walking took us into the Garbatella area, perhaps the biggest revelation of the day. After getting a little lost on a scenic detour (don't be tempted to walk along the river), we came across the Rome Advanced District (ROAD). The site used to be the 'energy centre' of Rome. For more than half a century, trains delivered coal here and gas was extracted. Much of the site is now in ruins, which makes for some great pics even if the place is fenced off. In another great example of re purposing, the site has now been transformed into the headquarters of ROAD. ROAD describes itself as 'a space for sustainable innovation.' Some of the old buildings have been renovated and the site looks like it's in the early stages of redevelopment.
Five minutes down the road from ROAD you'll come across Centrale Montemartini. It was originally a thermoelectric power plant that opened its doors in 1912. The plant was decommissioned in 1963 and sat in various states of disrepair until its rebirth as part of the Capitoline Museums which seems to date back to the mid 1990s. The museum contains a heady mix of original equipment from the power station, lots of ancient artefacts and you can even check out carriages from Pope Pius IX's personal train.
The Pope's train inspired us to check out some more ridiculous Roman Catholic excess (I'm allowed to say this having spent 13 years in Catholic schools) at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. It's one of four papal basilicas in Rome and the largest after St. Peter's in the Vatican. You can do your own research about the site and make your own mind up about its connection with St Peter and St Paul. To cut a very long story short, there's been sacred buildings on this site from the very early days of Christianity. A fire destroyed many of those buildings in 1823 and the present basilica was constructed between 1840 and 1928. It certainly looks mighty important and if you're of the faith, it's clearly significant. If you're into architecture you'll probably also find it fascinating. It's also a good place to reflect on the wealth and excess of the Catholic Church, but that might require a blog all of its own.
When you're over the basilica it's a short walk to the San Paolo Metro and you'll be back at the Termini 15 minutes later.