The Subura was a district in a valley central Rome. It was a low-lying area between the Viminal and Esquiline hills. It was a busy, crowded, noisy, dirty area. The Subura housed trades in manufacturing, crime, prostitution, merchants, writers, and politicians. This was a motley group of people. Many families that lived in the Subura were poor, lower-class families. In the Subura, Juvenal states that there are "the thousand dangers of a savage city" (Sat. 3. 8-9). The Subura has been called, dirty and wet, a resort of harlots, of dealers in provisions and delicacies, and finery of tradesmen of various sorts. There were also some dwellings of more distinguished persons, including Caesar.
Pictures: Google Earth
http://www.collegium-metamense.de/latein/felix/subura.jpg
