Ostiense and Garbatella: street art, factories and working-class cooking

South of Testaccio, Via Ostiense plunges into Rome's former industrial heartland: warehouses, factories, a rusty gasometer and, in recent years, façades covered in murals. Ostiense is where Romans go out in the evening and where travellers rarely venture. Next door, Garbatella is a village within the city, with its inner courtyards, staircases and ochre buildings put up in the 1920s. This guide offers a half-day route, from the Centrale Montemartini museum to the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, with places to eat and how to get around by metro. The hours and prices quoted were checked in October 2026.

Ostiense and Garbatella at a glance: where, for whom, when

Ostiense (district XI) follows Via Ostiense, the ancient road that linked Rome to its port at Ostia. The area was industrialised in the late 19th century around the Tiber and the railway: power station, gasometer, wholesale markets, warehouses. Many of these sites have been converted into museums, university buildings or nightlife venues. Garbatella, just to the south-east, is a working-class housing estate founded in 1920 on the model of the English garden city.

This part of Rome suits those who have already seen the big monuments and want a more ordinary city, or who like street art, industrial architecture and places where Romans have dinner. Come in the morning or early afternoon for the museum and the stroll, in the evening to eat and go out. Everything can be done on metro line B: Piramide, Garbatella and Basilica San Paolo stations mark the route.

The Centrale Montemartini, statues among the turbines

The gasometer on Via Ostiense

The Centrale Montemartini, at Via Ostiense 106, is the first visit to make: a former power station where ancient statues from the Capitoline Museums are displayed among the machines. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 7pm; a ticket costs €5.50 (reduced €4.50), free on the first Sunday of the month. Allow 1.5 hours.

A little further along Via Ostiense, the Gasometro, an enormous cylindrical metal structure almost 90 metres high, dominates the area. It cannot be visited, but it serves as a landmark: the whole district is organised around it. The neighbouring former factories now house workshops, offices and nightlife venues.

Street art and industrial ruins

A mural on Via del Porto Fluviale

Ostiense is one of the districts of Rome where street art is most visible. Monumental murals cover gable ends and warehouse walls, especially around Via del Porto Fluviale, Via Ostiense and the streets near the Gasometro. The works change regularly: a free one-hour wander with no fixed route is enough to see several.

The pedestrian bridge over the Tiber links Ostiense to the right bank, towards Trastevere and the Porta Portese market on Sunday. The former air terminal at Ostiense station now houses a large Italian food emporium (Eataly), handy for a break: grocery, restaurants and counters on several floors.

Garbatella, Rome's garden suburb

Piazza Sant'Eurosia in Garbatella

Garbatella was built from 1920 on a hill next to Ostiense, as "lotti": groups of low buildings three or four storeys high arranged around courtyards, gardens and lanes, linked by staircases. The ochre façades, washing at the windows and little squares give it the feel of a village. Romans come to stroll, for the neighbourhood cinemas and theatres and for unpretentious Roman restaurants.

Do walk into the courtyards: they are open, but they are people's homes, so be discreet. The district can be explored on foot in an hour, starting from Garbatella station (metro line B).

Where to eat and go out in Ostiense

The food is what Romans eat: Roman pasta (carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana), supplì, pizza. In Garbatella, choose the small neighbourhood trattorias; in Ostiense, the restaurants and bars in the old factories, very lively in the evening and at weekends. For Roman cooking by neighbourhood, read our guide to the trattorias of Rome, and for the quinto quarto tradition, the guide to Testaccio. Always check the "pane e coperto" line on the menu; our budget guide to Rome gives average meal prices.

The Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls

At the far end of Via Ostiense, the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls is Rome's fourth major basilica, built over the tomb of the apostle Paul. It is served by Basilica San Paolo station (metro line B). Its cloister and mosaics are worth the trip; our page gives hours and prices.

Summary table: the stops in Ostiense and Garbatella

Stop	What you see	Entry	Metro B
Centrale Montemartini	Ancient statues among turbines	€5.50 (reduced €4.50)	Garbatella or Piramide
Gasometro and street art	Industrial structure, murals	Free	Piramide or Garbatella
Garbatella	1920s garden suburb	Free	Garbatella
Pyramid of Cestius	36 m ancient tomb	Outside free	Piramide
Non-Catholic Cemetery	Graves of Keats and Shelley	Free (€5 suggested)	Piramide
St Paul Outside the Walls	Basilica and cloister	See the page	Basilica San Paolo

Prices checked in October 2026.

Around Ostiense

Heading north, the Pyramid of Cestius and the Non-Catholic Cemetery lie on the edge of Testaccio, one metro stop away. The Metromare train leaves from Porta San Paolo station for Ostia Antica, and the Baths of Caracalla are a fifteen-minute walk from Piramide station. To the south, the EUR district is a few metro stops away (see EUR and the Museum of Civilisations).

Getting to Ostiense and where to stay

Metro line B is the backbone of the area; it links Termini in about ten minutes. For tickets, read our guide to transport in Rome. The district is quiet, well connected and often cheaper than the centre, but there are few charming hotels: our guide where to stay in Rome compares the neighbourhoods.