HISTORY OF TRASTEVERE

This was the 'Etrascan side' of the river, and only after the destruction of Veio by Rome in 396 BC did it come under Roman rule. In earliest Republican days this Bank of the Tiber was occupied by Lars Porsenna in his attempt to replace the Tarquins on the Roman throne. Along the waterfront and on the higher ground at foot of the Janiculum, suburban villas were built by the aristocracy. One of these next to the Villa Farnesina, dating from the Augustan age and then destroyed, was excaveted in the late 19th century and its magnificent wall-paintings are now preserved in the museum in Palazzo Massimo. Under the Empire the district became densely populeted by artisans ans dock-workers. It was probably not entirely enclosed by walls before the time of Aurelia. Trastevere was home to a great number of Jews, who are recorded here as early as the 2nd century BC, they were confined to the Ghetto on the other side of the river. During the Risorgimento the district was a republican stronghold.  (by Rome Blue Guide)