Cinture di margine: la cerniera tra città e campagna a sud est di Roma

At first glance, the urban district of the Caelian Hill in Rome appears characterised by contradictions: it is occupied at the same time by domus of members of the pagan elite, by imposing barracks and – in a later moment – by the Lateran Basilica. Urban Morphology theory allows a better understanding of the evolution of this area which is a typical example of a “fringe belt”, delimited to the north by the pomerium and the Republican walls, to the south by the limit of the hill with the Marrana river and later by the Aurelian Walls. This district is located on the edge of the city and serves a hinge role between the centre and the countryside.