It takes its name from the Janiculum hill, which lies in the nearby rione Trastevere and whose western extremities correspond to the area of Monteverde.

In the 17th century, the merger of several vineyards led to the creation of Villa Doria Pamphili, which hosts the casino designed by Alessandro Algardi.

The expansion continued in the Fascist era, when the public housing buildings nicknamed Grattacieli ("skyscrapers") were built along Via di Donna Olimpia.

Monteverde (Italian for green mountain) presumably takes its name from the green-yellowish tuff that was mined from the quarries that were scattered in the territory.

The territory of quartiere Gianicolense is crossed by the eponymous circonvallazione and by Via dei Colli Portuensi, a thoroughfare which was built in view of the 1960 Summer Olympics as part of the so called Via Olimpica, a road axis that was aimed to connect EUR with the Stadio Olimpico.