HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Rione Sant'Eustachio, pressed between rioni Pigna and Parione, was originally part of the Augustan region, where one could find the theater of Pompey, the Neronian thermal baths, and the stagnum Agrippae. It has always been a densely populated area: important communication ways for the city, like the "via Papalis" and the "via Recta", ran through it. Subsequent constructions overlaid the Roman ruins and the medieval towers were absorbed by baroque and Renaissance buildings. This pattern was broken between the 19th and the 20th century. The district was literally demolished and remodeled with the opening of Corso Vittorio and Corso Rinascimento and the enlargement of Palazzo Madama. The main characteristic of the district has always been the concentration of certain craft activities, still remembered by the names of some streets: chiavari (locksmiths), cestari (basket makers), barbieri (barber shops).
NOT TO BE MISSED
The most famous building of the rione is undoubtedly Palazzo Madama. Home of the Senate of the Republic since 1871 and constructed on the behest of Giovanni de' Medici in 1503, the building owes its name to Madame Margaret of Austria, widow of Alessandro de' Medici. But among the streets of Sant'Eustachio lie other artistic and architectural jewels that are much more precious. Starting from the church of St. Luigi dei Francesi (1518), where three masterpieces of Caravaggio are hosted: "St. Matthew and the angel" (in the center, on the altar), the "Martyrdom of St. Matthew", and the "Calling of St. Matthew" (1597-1602). Another Caravaggio altar-piece, "The Madonna of the pilgrims" (1605), is in the church of St. Augustine (1420), near other great works, like "Isiah prophet" by Raphael (1512) and the "Madonna del parto" (Madonna giving birth), by Jacopo Sansovino (1521). Noteworthy is the Sapienza edifice, old home of the University of Rome, which was designed by numerous architects-from Guidetto Guidetti to Pirro Ligorio, from Giacomo della Porta to the great Francesco Borromini. Borromini modified it starting from 1632 and erected the church of St. Ivo.
CURIOUS FACTS
The name originates from the story of the Roman centurion Placido, who lived during the reign of the emperor Trajan (98-117). The legend tells that he had a vision during a hunt: a deer with a cross between its horns, and he heard a voice that invited him to convert to Christianity. So he did, and since he wouldn't change his mind, he was put face-to-face with the lions in the circus, together with his wife and kids. The lions spared them and an alternative martyrdom was chosen: they were closed in a bronze bull in flames. Eustachio is the name Placido took when he was baptized and the church erected where once stood the centurion's home was dedicated to Sant'Eustachio.
