Rome in the Late 19th Century: Vintage Photos Before the Modern World Took Over

On September 20, 1870, Italian troops broke through the ancient Aurelian Walls at Porta Pia and entered Rome. That single breach ended centuries of papal rule over the city and made Rome the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.

King Victor Emmanuel II took up residence at the Quirinal Palace. At the time, Rome was a modest city of about 200,000 people. Large stretches inside the ancient walls were still vineyards, vegetable gardens, and private parks owned by noble families.

The new government moved fast to modernize the city. Workers laid wide, straight boulevards to handle growing traffic. One of the first major projects was the Via Nazionale, connecting the new Termini train station to the city center. Grand hotels and the massive Bank of Italy building lined its sides.

The Corso Vittorio Emanuele II required tearing down old houses and narrow medieval alleys. In the 1880s, developers demolished the famous Villa Ludovisi gardens and replaced them with high-end apartment blocks for the new middle class. The crowded Jewish Ghetto was also torn down that decade to build newer housing.

The Tiber River flooded the city streets every winter. A severe flood in 1875 buried the downtown in several feet of water and mud. Engineers responded by designing the Lungotevere — tall stone embankment walls lining both sides of the river. Ancient docks and riverside buildings were demolished to make room, permanently changing how the city related to its river.

Daily life shifted as modern technology arrived. Horse-drawn streetcars began running along the main roads in 1877. Gas lamps replaced oil lanterns on the streets at night. Meanwhile, the ancient ruins — the Forum, the Colosseum — were cleared of weeds and excavated so historians could properly study them.

A deep political divide ran through the city. Pope Pius IX refused to recognize the King’s authority. He remained inside the Vatican, calling himself a prisoner. This split Roman society into two rival camps — the “Black Nobility,” loyal to the Pope, and the “White Nobility,” who sided with the King. The tension persisted through the end of the century.

The streets, squares, and landmarks photographed during these decades captured a city in the middle of a dramatic transformation — ancient and modern Rome existing side by side in the same frame.