The Roman skyline is totally my jam.
I love it. I love the view towards the altare della Patria, I love feeling like I am spying on secrets from the rooftop of the Raphael, and I love the general jumble of layers that make up the beautiful city.
I also love the gasometro.
I was certainly surprised to see it for the first time when I moved to Rome.
I wanted to the domed cathedrals and burnt sienna of the historic center.
But I have come to love the gasometro and the important role it plays in Rome’s skyline. Visible from Trastevere, Ostiense, Testaccio and Garbatella, the unmistakable cylinder was once used to store the city’s gas supply.
Now, as the area surrounding the gasometro is gentrified, that space is being reclaimed much like the ex mattatoio in Testaccio and sometimes hosts summer festivals. And if you walk to the Centrale Montemartini, you should pass right by it.
Keep and eye out for it on this side of town because it truly is a real part of the Roman landscape.
I have seen this but what is it for? How did it work?
Hi Shannon, we might need a more engineering mind than mine to get into how it worked – but essentially before petroleum was widely used for electricity, Rome had this structure built to house some of the city’s gas supply. (Actual gases like propane, not what is put in cars). This helped to power street lights, etc.
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