The magic of the plazas in Rome

The magic of the plazas in Rome

Hello everyone! Today we will continue on our Rome chapter. It's time for the famous "Piazze"'s of the Italian capital to have their turn. Aside from the most famous monuments in Rome, which could be the Colosseum, the Roman forum or the Pantheon, the Roman plazas are also protagonists. Each Roman plaza has a different atmosphere and they are key to getting to know the daily life of its citizens. Also, historically, every Piazza keeps its own secrets, which I will relay to you throughout this post. Without further ado, here are 4 of the plazas that I think are essential to see in Rome. Let's go!

Piazza Navona

This is one of the most Baroque plazas in Rome. Its main monument is found in the centre of the plaza, and it's the well known sculpture by Bernini, which is called "The Fountain of Four Rivers". This fountain represents the 4 most important rivers of its time, which were the Nile (Africa), the Ganges (India) the Danube (Europe) and the River Plate (Argentina). Each one of these rivers is represented by a statue, a marble giant. From further away, the Fountain of Four Rivers is visible from the obelisk on which it sits, making it very tall.

Right in front of the sculpture, you'll find Sant'Agnese en Agone (Santa Ines en Agonia), a church designed by Borromini. The legend of the suppressed rivalry between Borromini and Bernini lies here. The marble giant that you can see in the following photo is pointing at Borromini's church with a hand which is expressing his disgust, as if to say "how horrible". It has been said that Bernini built this horrified giant on purpose, but this is not true as Sant'Agnese en Agone was built before the fountain. Even so, strange coincidence.

Regarding the rest of the plaza, you'll find buildings of different pastel colours and restaurants where you can taste different Italian dishes. Maybe, if you're lucky, you could get a table in one of the terraces and watch tourists pass by and the artists painting.

Piazza Venezia

This one is found in the centre of Rome, very close to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It's one of the most visited plazas in the Italian capital, and from it the monument Vittorio Emanuele II stands out. You can't miss it if you walk by. This colossal monument was made in honour of the first king of Italy. Made of marble, there's no doubt at all that it's an elegant and striking building.

To build this big plaza, it was necessary to destroy the neighbourhood that was situated just in front of it. This sparked huge controversy at the time, as the neighbourhood consisted of very important historic medieval buildings.

From the top of the stairs, you can see how the 5 main streets of Rome intersect. Without any doubt, it's impossible to get lost in Piazza Venezia. You will walk through it more than once, whether it's on purpose or not.

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo it one of the most famous plazas in the city. You'll find two twin churches in this plaza. In fact, they're known by this name, but the reality is different as they're not really twins. My friends from Rome told me that when they were little, they went on school trips to the Piazza del Popolo. It was here where their teacher told them to examine at the two churches well, because despite looking very similar, there are a lot of differences between them.

In front of them, you'll find a tall obelisk which is visible from all the viewpoints that you'll find around this plaza. I recommend seeing it at night, as the atmosphere is so unique and the colours of the sunset give it a romantic touch. The next photo I'll add is a photo of the plaza which I took from the Terrazza del Pincio, which is found right next to the plaza. To get to it and to have this view, you have to climb quite a lot of stairs. But, it's worth it as the view is incredible. You can see the whole city lit up, with the Basilica of San Pedro sticking out and shining in its light. Also, right there in the terrace there was a musician playing a beautiful melody with a type of harp, so the scene was super romantic. This plaza was the first one I visited in the city of Rome, so it holds a special place in my memory. I recommend it 100%.

Piazza de Spagna

You'll find Piazza de Spagna very close to Piazza del Popolo/ Going down the following stairs that you can see in the photo, we arrive at Piazza di Spagna. Here you'll find one of the most famous shopping streets in the city, and this is where you'll find the most expensive boutiques too. These stairs join the Church of Trinita dei Monti, which dominates the plaza.

In the centre of the plaza you'll find the icing on the cake: the Fountain della Barcaccia, also designed by Bernini. Rome is practically an open air museum. Probably even more so than any other city in the world. The norm would be having these types of sculptures in a museum, fenced in with glass. But one of the prettiest things about Rome is that the citizen is in direct contact with art. This special sculpture is in the shape of a boat, and you can find see different streams of fresh water coming from it. Everyone drinks the water that comes out of it, and they take a photo of the moment to keep as a souvenir. During the summer month, you cannot even begin to imagine how incredible it is that Rome has so many fountains all over the place. Take advantage of filling up your bottles with fresh drinking water.

The best moment of the day to visit this area is during the night, when the temperatures drop slightly and the heat isn't so stifling. Also, although the photos you'll see a lot of people, but during the day it's even more crammed, especially on the main shopping street. However, we went there around dinner time, when the majority of people were inside the restaurants. So take note and go for a wander around here during the evening/night.

And that's it for today! I hope you've learned and discovered some new and interesting facts. Thank you for reading this post, and I'll see you for the next one! Byeee!

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