Esquilino

Near to Rome's main railway station, the Esquilino, is fast becoming Rome's Chinatown. However it is also still home to Romans who moved there in the mid-1920s when it was a good place to live for railway workers and government employees. It can be noisy but it has the great advantage of being close to the historic centre, the station and the underground. it has a good range of shops and low price supermarkets. Some parts of it are being restored and the relocation of the colourful open market from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, in the centre of the district, to the old barracks just north of the square has given the whole zone a much needed facelift. There are some beautiful Liberty-style buildings in bad repair in the streets around Piaza Vittorio. It is perhaps one of the most under-rated areas close to the historic centre.