Of the three most important factories in the San Lorenzo neighbourhood, the others being the Sciarra glassworks and the Wuhrer Beer factory, the “Semoleria-Pastificio Cerere", an old mill and pasta factory named after Ceres, the ancient Roman goddess of the harvest, is the oldest. Designed by the architect Satti, it is, without a doubt, the most important example of industrial archaeology to be found in the San Lorenzo neighbourhood. Established in 1902, its production reached its peak before the Second World War, which heralded the beginning of its gradual decline.

When production ceased in 1960, the factory was converted into lofts and the space was adapted to house the studios of painters and sculptors, artists who were fairly well-known. It was the critic Achille Bonito Oliva who first made the ex-factory famous with the exhibition entitled “Ateliers” in the summer of 1984. This show opened up to the public the space where the artists Nunzio, Bruno Ceccobelli, Gianni Dessì, Giuseppe Gallo, Piero Pizzi Cannella and Marco Tirelli lived and worked. Thus it was that, in the 1990s, San Lorenzo became the Roman SOHO, home to numerous painters, photographers and sculptors. Today, the neighbourhood is well known for hosting a large population of visual artists from all over Southern Europe.

History
The San Lorenzo neighbourhood is in the eastern part of Rome, close to the ancient Aurelian Walls. It lies between the south-east side of the Termini Railway Station complex, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Città Universitaria (the extensive university campus) and the Verano monumental complex. It is bordered on the south by the railway depot.

Most of the neighbourhood dates from the years between 1878 and 1930, and like the nearby Esquiline and the Prati neighbourhood, it was constructed on a typically ‘Umbertino’ street plan. On July 19, 1943, the neighbourhood was the target of the worst and most tragic of the Allied bombings Rome suffered during the Second World War. An estimated one-thousand six-hundred people were killed, numerous homes were destroyed and many more were seriously damaged.

San Lorenzo Today
Following the Second World War, a new awareness of the artistic patrimony and the industrial and cultural wealth of the San Lorenzo area gave rise to an ongoing renaissance that has been changing the face of this historic neighbourhood while remaining true to its true origins. The development of the Città Universitaria as part of the neighbourhood has made San Lorenzo one of the most popular areas in Rome for nightlife for Romans and foreigners alike. Together with Trastevere and Testaccio, San Lorenzo is today one of the three neighbourhoods that best represent the essence of the Roman lifestyle.