Until 1883 the whole borough was a vast expanse of fields, meadows, pastures and wetlands, with just a few farmhouses, chiefly on the slopes of Monte Mario. All the names by which the area has been called over time denote it as a wild, flat and deserted grassland: Pianella di Prati, Pianella d'Oltretevere and Prati di Castello, the latter referring to Castel Sant'Angelo.
