HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The name derives from the "Prata Neronis", which became known in the Middle Ages as the "Prata Sancti Petri" and later still as the "Prati di Castello" ("prato" meaning meadow). And meadows were indeed the most distinctive feature - along with orchards, vineyards, and marshes - of the area that developed in the 19th century into the Prati neighborhood, with its geometric grid of streets. The area provided ample space to meet the new capital city's need to expand and create new administrative buildings, while the Monte Mario district was ideally suited for the creation of a pleasant residential district. Comfortable and elegant housing was built, not least to persuade the Romans to cross the river and move into an area which just a short time before they had considered far from attractive
NOT TO BE MISSED
This neighborhood was only developed at the end of the 19th century and is perhaps less interesting than other parts of the city. With its wide, regular streets, large squares, and elegant fin de siècle apartment blocks, Prati is, however, a very pleasant district and merits a stroll, especially in the area lying behind the monumental Palace of Justice or "Palazzaccio" (literally, large and ugly building), where the visitor will find one of the city's busiest shopping districts. The Palace of Justice was built near the bank of the Tiber on terrain that is particularly sandy and muddy. The story is told of how, during the building work in 1885, the body of Crepereia Tryphaena, a young Roman girl, was found in the sands of the river. This event caused a sensation at the time and inspired Giovanni Pascoli to write a famous poem in Latin. To prevent the "Palazzaccio" from sinking slowly into the soft, unstable ground, lengthy structural works were required to reinforce the foundations. Another interesting building to be found in Piazza Cavour is the Waldensian church, built in 1914 in a Gothic-inspired style.
CURIOUS FACTS
Number 18 Lungotevere Prati houses the Museum of the Souls in Purgatory. This owes its origin to a fire that broke out in 1897 on the altar of the nearby church of the Sacro Cuore del Suffragio, while a mass was taking place for the souls in Purgatory. Apparently the congregation noticed a suffering face through the flames, the image of which remained impressed on the smoke-blackened wall. After this event a French priest, Victor Janet, began to collect together various holy objects on which prints - that might have been left by the souls in Purgatory - had appeared. His collection, which came from all over Europe, is now housed in this small museum.
