Ostiense (the Rome quarter south of the Aventino and east of the Tiber, the former industrial zone between Via Ostiense and Via Cristoforo Colombo, 3km from the Colosseum, accessible by Metro B to Piramide station): the Rome neighborhood that concentrates more cultural and historical variety per square kilometer than any comparable post-industrial area in Italy: the 12 BC Roman pyramid (the Piramide di Caio Cestio, the burial monument of the praetor Gaius Cestius, built in 330 days of white marble from Carrara, perfectly preserved because the Aurelian Walls incorporated it as a bastion in 271 AD), the Cimitero Acattolico (the non-Catholic cemetery where Keats, Shelley, and Gramsci are buried), the Centrale Montemartini (the 1912 power plant converted into Rome's second major ancient sculpture museum), the Gazometro (the decommissioned gas holder whose industrial silhouette has become the Ostiense symbol), the Eataly food market, the Teatro India, and the most concentrated street art program in Rome, all within a 1km radius of the Piramide Metro station.
The Ostiense transformation: the neighborhood that was Rome's primary industrial zone from the late 19th century through the 1970s (the gas plant, the slaughterhouse, the railway freight yards, and the industrial warehouses that the working-class Ostiense housed) became from the 1990s onward the primary creative district of Rome as the industrial functions relocated to the outer periphery and the large-floor industrial spaces became available for cultural and creative conversion: the Mattatoio (the former slaughterhouse converted to contemporary arts space), the Centrale Montemartini (the power plant converted to archaeological museum), the Eataly (the food market in a former railway building), and the Teatro India (the former factory converted to theater) all represent the specific Ostiense creative-conversion model that the neighborhood has systematically applied to its industrial heritage.
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Ostiense: Pyramid, Cemetery, Power Plant, and Street Art
Piramide di Caio Cestio
Piramide di Caio Cestio (the 36m white marble pyramid at Piazzale Ostiense, the burial monument of Gaius Cestius, praetor, tribune, and member of the Septemviri Epulones, completed in 12 BC): the pyramid interior (the burial chamber with the frescoed vault, the specific Roman 1st century BC fresco decoration of the chamber interior, accessible on guided visits organized by the FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano): check fondoambiente.it for the 2026 visit schedule (typically the second and fourth Saturday of the month, limited to 25 visitors per session, advance booking essential). The pyramid exterior: freely visible at all hours from the adjacent Piazzale Ostiense and from the Cimitero Acattolico adjacent wall.
Cimitero Acattolico
Cimitero Acattolico (the Non-Catholic Cemetery, Via Caio Cestio 6, the cemetery adjacent to the pyramid, open Monday-Saturday 9:00-17:00, Sunday 9:00-13:00, suggested donation €3): the graves of John Keats (died February 23, 1821, the tombstone inscription that Keats himself composed: "Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water"), Percy Bysshe Shelley (drowned July 8, 1822, the Cor Cordium tombstone: "Heart of Hearts"), Antonio Gramsci (died April 27, 1937, the founder of the Italian Communist Party whose prison letters (the Quaderni del Carcere) Mussolini's jails couldn't silence), and the specific combination of Romantic poetry and Italian Marxist politics in a single cemetery garden is the most concentrated single site of European intellectual history in Rome.
Centrale Montemartini
Centrale Montemartini (Via Ostiense 106, the 1912 thermal power plant housing ancient Roman sculptures from the Capitoline Museums collection, the specific exhibition design (the ancient marble statues displayed against the turbines, the boilers, and the industrial machinery of the power plant) produces the most visually distinctive archaeological museum environment in Rome: open Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-19:00, admission approximately €8).
Q&A: Ostiense Quartiere
What is the best sequence for visiting Ostiense in one day?
The optimal Ostiense day: Metro B to Piramide (9:00), the Cimitero Acattolico (9:00-10:30, before the midday heat in summer), the Pyramid exterior (10:30, the exterior visit, the interior by booked guided visit), the Centrale Montemartini (11:00-13:00, the power plant-museum), lunch at Eataly Roma (the food market 500m from the Montemartini, the self-service format available for lunch, prices moderate), the Ostiense street art walk (14:00-15:30. Via del Porto Fluviale and the adjacent streets for the most concentrated street art in Rome), and the Teatro India or GOA Club evening if the program suits. The complete Ostiense day is the most culturally dense single-neighborhood day available in Rome outside the historic center.
