The Testaccio district, which occupies about 60 hectares on the left bank of the Tiber, preserves significant evidence and monuments from various eras and boasts a functional continuity from the ancient city to the modern city due to its unique economic and commercial vocation, which has periodically re-emerged over the centuries. For this reason it lends itself to becoming a good laboratory for the creation of a 'diffuse museum' of the territory.

Starting from the 2nd century BC and then between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, when Rome's ancient landing place at the Foro Boario became insufficient for the needs of the city, the Testaccio plain was destined for the construction of a port (Emporium), buildings for the conservation and storage of goods (Porticus Aemilia, Horrea Galbana, Lolliana, Seiana etc.) and a large controlled dump of oil amphorae from the Imperial age (Monte dei Cocci or Monte Testaccio).

Between the 5th and 7th centuries A.D., the plain underwent a gradual ruralisation process and, from the Middle Ages onwards, was used to plant vegetable gardens and vineyards. Part of the present district was left for public enjoyment and was therefore known as the 'meadows of the Roman people'.

After the Unification of Italy, the Regulatory Plan of 1871 allocated the area to accommodate industrial plants and the annexed workers' dwellings. The modern and functional slaughterhouse was built according to the design of architect G. Ersoch. The working-class dwellings, however, were not provided with adequate infrastructures (water, electricity, sewage, etc.), leading to precarious and inadequate living conditions. The Fascist regime promoted a second phase of building, with the gradual inclusion of the white-collar middle classes in the district and a progressive social transformation.

Today Testaccio is home to new and different cultural realities, including the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Roma Tre, the European Institute of Design and a section of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, demonstrating great potential in the evolution of its social, commercial and cultural physiognomy.

The project for the Rione Testaccio Museum was developed entirely within the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma (Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome) and is part of the urban redevelopment of the Rione. It aims to rediscover and show the history of human settlement in the area, recreating an ideal, physical and perceptual itinerary that demonstrates the historical and cultural identity of the district through the formation of a spatial and temporal unity between the ancient city and the modern city.

Finally, the aim is to show, in a city with a continuity of life such as Rome, the value of the ancient-modern relationship and the potential of exploiting the cultural heritage as an element of development in the urban transformations of modern cities.

The Museo Diffuso del Rione Testaccio consists of:    
- the district route with didactic-informative panels
- the multimedia route and a website
- the archaeological area of the Emporium
- the urban archaeological park of the Porticus Aemilia
- the archaeological area of the Nuovo Mercato Testaccio
- the exhibition-didactic area for children (4-11 years old): "Sottosopra" (Upside Down) archaeology in small steps.
 steps.