Quartiere Coppedè

Rome's most fantastical neighbourhood — a small but extraordinary cluster of about 20 buildings designed by Florentine architect Gino Coppedè between 1913 and 1926, commissioned by a group of wealthy families in the Trieste district. Coppedè created a unique personal style that blends Art Nouveau, Baroque, Greek, medieval, and Assyrian-Babylonian influences into an entirely original fantasy — swirling wrought-iron gates, mosaic friezes, fairy-tale towers, bronze scorpions, mythological figures, and ornate facades unlike anything else in Rome. The centrepiece is the monumental arch on Piazza Mincio, with the Fountain of the Frogs below. Almost entirely unknown to international tourists (yet quietly beloved by Romans), the entire quarter can be explored in 30–45 minutes and costs nothing.