The first public lift of the Eternal City
Not everyone knows that once upon a time, people used to go by lift to the Pincio. In fact, the Aurelian Walls, along the northern side of the Pincio gardens, overlooks Viale del Muro Torto, where a small 16th-century Tuscan style building is grafted right above the Walls. Still, legible writing behind the gate leaves no room for doubt: ATAC – LIFTS.
In fact, this writing recalls the existence of a plant that came into operation on August 1, 1926, built by the then tram company of the Governorate of Rome, the ATG, at the same time as the construction of the tramway along the road below, where they made a stop two lines that respectively connected Piazza Verbano and Piazza Indipendenza with the Trionfale district. It was thus possible for passengers to have a direct connection between the Pincio and the tram stop, overcoming a height difference of 15 meters in about 20 seconds.
The plant, powered by electricity, included 2 cabins whose generous dimensions – 3 meters by 1.90 – accommodated up to 18 people. The plant was active until 28 September 1959, when with the transformation of Viale del Muro Torto into a fast-flowing artery, the tracks were removed to allow the road to widen and the trams replaced by buses, which could not, however, it is better to stop at the elevators, which therefore ended their service, except for a brief use during the 1960 Olympics, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Location: Viale dell’Orologio
Distance from ‘900 Apartments: 12 min – 1 km (https://tinyurl.com/y676occ5)
If you will be going to visit it, use #900facts in your posts or stories and we will re-post it!
#900facts #rome #pincio #tourism #italy #villaborghese