Among the historic Roman streets, via Margutta it is rich in art and testimonies of the past. Here, where they once lived Federico Fellini and Anna Magnani, from whom Rubens and Picasso passed, history pervades the air. And the art survives, in the painting studios and in the ancient facades.
Via Margutta, because it is called that
The name Margutta is unknown where it comes from, although scholars connect it to "Marisgutta" (drop of the sea, as the stream that descended from Villa dei Pincii was called) or to the nickname of the barber who had his shop here (Margutte). What is certain is that, in the past, via Margutta was called via dei Nari and it was nothing more than a narrow alley behind the buildings in via del Babuino. Here, in this corner of Rome in the Campo Marzio district, lived masons and marble workers, grooms and workers. Then, in the Middle Ages, an artist with an unknown identity opened the first workshop of portraits and sculptures. And kicked off the migration of artists who, from all over Europe, came here to open their shops and to build their houses.
The favorite street of artists
A stone's throw from Piazza di Spagna and Piazza del Popolo, Via Margutta was the home of Federico Fellini, Anna Magnani, Giulietta Masina, Giorgio de Chirico, Nicola Rubino and Novella Pariginie. Attracted by the artistic atmosphere that one breathed here, the same one that is breathed in the film-masterpiece "Vacanze romane". "If you could see how beautiful the sky is in via Margutta this evening, looking at it now does not seem true that it is the same sky of bombings, painters, young poets and their loves" Luca Barbarossa sang. And, indeed, poets and painters really lived here. Just think of Pieter Paul Rubens e Pablo Picasso, Gaspar van Wittel, Pieter van Laer and Antonio Canova who opened his atelier on the street.
What to see in via Margutta today
Today, in via Margutta, people come to stroll through the Rome that was once. Here is the plaque that pays homage to Federico Fellini, for twenty-five years "tenant" of the street. At number 33 there is the balconette that "Roman Holidays" made famous and that, today, is among the most famous balconies in the world. But, above all, here is the Fountain of the Arts. Made in 1927 to a design by the architect Pietro Lombardi, it is distinguished by the front masks that represent the moods of the artists (one has a serene expression, the other a sad expression). And then there are the art ateliers, one more beautiful than the other. Where, to enter, is an invitation to which one cannot say no.
The way in the movies
Not only is it present in "Roman Holidays", via Margutta. There is even a movie, "Via Margutta”Which, based on the novel“ Gente al Babuino ”by Ugo Moretti, tells the story of artists and intellectuals. In "An American in Rome" Alberto Sordi he goes to the house of an American painter who lives right here, and also in “My first forty years” can Carol Alt the street is present. It frequently occurs ne “La boredom” by Alberto Moravia, is mentioned in novels and songs. And it is, today as yesterday, indelibly engraved in the Roman imagination.
