📍Via Vetulonia, Rome, Italy
1976 – 1993“Francesco Totti was born in Rome in September 1976 and grew up in an apartment at Via Vetulonia 18, in Porta Metronia, a lively working-class neighbourhood just inside the ancient Aurelian Walls, near San Giovanni and the Colosseum. His father, Lorenzo, worked in a bank, and his mother, Fiorella, looked after him and his older brother, Riccardo. The family were devoted Roma supporters, and the neighbourhood, with its newsstands, bars and small courtyards, was Francesco's whole world. As a small, slight boy he was nicknamed Gnomo, the gnome, but he could play football better than anyone around him and always played with older boys. He bought his football sticker albums at the local newsstand, went to school a few streets away, and kicked a ball around the neighbourhood's courtyards and pitches from morning to night. His hero was the Roma captain, Giuseppe Giannini. At eight he joined the youth club Fortitudo, then moved to Smit Trastevere and Lodigiani. Lazio and Milan were keen on him, but his mother refused, and at thirteen he joined Roma's youth teams, a dream come true for the whole family. He made his Serie A debut for Roma at sixteen, in 1993, and stayed his whole career, twenty-five years, becoming the club's captain, record goalscorer, and an emblem of the city, winning the league title in 2001 and the 2006 World Cup with Italy. Porta Metronia has never forgotten him: a giant mural of Totti appeared on a wall in the neighbourhood, honouring the Gnomo who became the King of Rome.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today