The Monti neighborhood owes its name to the fact that it’s nestled amongst four of Rome’s seven hills on which the city was built, specifically: the Quirinale, Esquilino, Viminale and Celio hills. Historically in competition with Trastevere, with which it shares a working-class folklore, Monti was – in ancient times – the red-light district (the Suburra), the birthplace of many gladiators as well as the emperor Julius Caesar. At present it’s a lively up-market neighborhood where traditional trattorias coexist with small multiethnic shops.