Roman's squares are places you cannot miss visiting. There are so many, one most beautiful than the other one. They are the meeting points for both tourists and locals.
In them, you can find some local markets, artistic fountains made by famous sculptors, unmissable museums and palaces, and local restaurants where to stop for a delicious Roman meal.
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Read 15 Most Beautiful Squares in Rome Below
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1. Piazza del Campidoglio:
The Campidoglio is the smallest of the famous seven Roman hills and the most important. Here started the first foundation of the city, circled by a system of protective walls, built to defend itself from the tribes of the neighbouring hills.
In the Piazza del Campidoglio, there are several buildings. The Capitoline Museums, for example, is the oldest in the world, where there is a vibrant collection of finds from ancient Rome.
The equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, the remains of the Colossus of Constantine, mosaics from the Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. And also the figure of the Capitoline Venus and the Hall of the Emperors.
Do not miss the statue of the Dying Galata, the bronze statue of the Capitoline Wolf, a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
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2. Piazza Della Pietra:
In this square, you will admire a large temple dedicated to Emperor Hadrian by his son and successor Antonino Pio.
Of the ancient structure of the temple, only 11 of the original 15 columns are still present.
In 1879, the surviving structures were incorporated into palazzo Della Borsa (the stock exchange building) and the Chamber of Commerce.
At number 36 in the square, you can admire a temple model how it was at that time.
3. Piazza Venezia e l'Altare della Patria:
One of Rome's most visible monuments is the Vittoriano, in Piazza Venezia, the Altare Della Patria. The latter is only a part of the complex, added later to the original project.
The Altare Della Patria is not only one of the city's most famous and photographed monuments, but it is also one of the most important for what concerns the history of Italy, the Risorgimento and the Savoy monarchy.
It contains many symbols and references to national unity and Christianity and represents Italy in all its facets.
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4. Piazza Farnese:
Piazza Farnese is located in a peaceful environment decorated by two large twin fountains of Egyptian granite from the Baths of Caracalla, whose arrangement is attributed to Girolamo Rainaldi.
5. Piazza di Spagna:
Piazza di Spagna and the staircase in Rome are a place you can't miss visiting.
It is one of the symbolic places of the Capitoline city and represents one of the most symbolic and historical places in Rome.
With the church, Piazza di Spagna in Rome remains impressed by its monumental 136-step staircase, commissioned by the French cardinal, Pierre Guerin de Tencin, and inaugurated by Pope Benedict XIII on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1725.
As a significant part of that side of the square, the staircase was built thanks to French investments starting from 1721 to link the Spanish embassy and the Church of Trinità dei Monti.
The design was entrusted to Alessandro Specchi and Francesco De Sanctis.
6. Piazza Colonna:
Piazza Colonna (Column Square) got its name from the presence of the column erected by the Senate and the Roman people in honour of Marcus Aurelius after his death in 180 AD.
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7. Piazza Barberini:
Named after the Barberini family, Piazza Barberini is particularly famous for its centrepiece, the Fontana del Tritone, designed by sculptor Bernini.
In the centre of the square stands the Fontana del Tritone, sculpted in 1643. Four dolphins hold up Triton, the god of the sea, as he makes a fountain of water expel out from a seashell. The fountain, made of travertine (sedimentary rock), is Bernini's most well-known works.
8. Piazza delle Vaschette:
Piazza delle Vaschette is near Borgo Vittorio, and its name originates from the presence of some trays that once adorned the place.
The Fontana dell'Acqua Angelica occupies the square's southern side, called this way because the Acqua Angelica initially fed it.
At the same time, today, it is connected to the aqueduct of the Acqua Vergine.
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9. Campo de Fiori:
Located south of Piazza Navona, it is undoubtedly one of the oldest markets, if not the oldest ever in the city since 1869.
Campo de 'Fiori was at the centre of the "vignarole" trade. Ladies from the countryside used to come here with their herbs and vegetables to sell them to the Romans.
At the beginning of its history, the Campo de 'Fiori market was a place of almost exclusive trade in fruit and vegetables, then over time, the stalls of meat, flowers and fish were added.
Opening Times: every day from 7 am to 2 pm.
10. Piazza del Popolo:
All tourists pass by Piazza del Popolo at least once during their vacation. It is one of the most famous squares in Rome. It is said that Nero, the ruthless emperor famous for his follies, killed himself, or instead, he was killed by a servant because he did not dare to do it alone, right near the square, and was buried here.
A walnut tree was planted on his grave, which soon became a favourite place for ghosts, including his own, and witches and demons who also infested a nearby poplar forest.
They say that to exorcise the square. Pope Pasquale II decided to cut down the walnut and burnt the emperor's bones. Instead of his burial, he consecrated a chapel, destined over the centuries to grow and become the famous church of Santa Maria del Popolo.
Another interesting fact about this square is the two twin churches.
They are Santa Maria in Monte Santo, on the left, and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, on the right.
Pope Alexander VII built them in the 17th century. Initially, they should have been symmetrical, but on the left, the available space was smaller, and therefore the one on the right is larger.
If you look closely, you can see that the church on the right has an octagonal dome, while the one on the left has a dodecagonal one, whose particular shape has allowed the architect to crush it in the available space.
Another symbol of Piazza del Popolo is the obelisk in the centre of the square. It is the second oldest in Rome and was transported up to the tenth century by Eliopoli after the battle of Anzio to decorate the Circus Maximus.
11. Piazza San Pietro:
It is undoubtedly the most famous square globally, for artistic and religious reasons and visitors can admire it for about 350 years. You can start admiring the majesty of San Pietro from Castel Sant'Angelo, looking down the majestic Via Della Conciliazione.
St. Peter's Square is famous for its arcade, a big "hug" to the city of Rome and the world. Probably the obelisk of St. Peter's Square is one of the most famous in the world, and it was transported from the time of Caligula from Heliopolis to Egypt.
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12. Piazza Della Minerva:
Piazza Della Minerva is a piazza in Rome, near the Pantheon. Its name derives from a temple built on the site by Pompey dedicated to Minerva Calcidica, whose statue is now in the Vatican Museums.
13. The Circus Maximus:
Circus Maximus is the largest building for the spectacle of antiquity and one of the largest of all time. With theatres and arenas, Roman circuses were the most important places of entertainment in Ancient Rome. They were enlarged enclosures where recreational activities took place, such as chariot races.
Located between the Aventine Hill and the Palatine Hill, the Circus Maximus of Rome was a stadium with 300,000 spectators. Its sandy track, 600 meters long and 225 meters wide made the Circus Maximus the largest stadium in Rome, more spacious than the Circus Flaminio and the Circus of Maxentius.
14. Piazza Navona:
Built during the fifteenth century, the Baroque-style Piazza Navona is one of Rome's most fascinating and attractive squares. Piazza Navona is encircled by restaurants giving Piazza Navona a refreshing and charming atmosphere.
Here, you can enjoy performances by street artists like magicians and dancers. The most majestic buildings in this square are the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone and the Palazzo Pamphilj.
The most beautiful parts of Piazza Navona are its three fountains, designed during the papacy of Gregory XIII:
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
Fontana del Moro
Fontana del Nettuno
Until the mid-nineteenth century, every summer, the drains of the three fountains were obstructed to flood the square and make the "Lake of Piazza Navona".
15. Piazza Della Rotonda:
Piazza Della Rotonda is the square right outside the Pantheon. As the Pantheon's informal name is the church of Santa Maria Rotonda, that's how the piazza gets the name.
It is an unmissable place to visit, the picture you can take of the fountains and the Pantheon is so full of history.
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There are also many restaurants around the square, but there is a place where I suggest you go and it is a L'Antica Salumeria, a butcher shop that sells all kinds of typical Italian cured meat.
I bought here some salami, and they were delicious, so have a look inside and take away with you some souvenirs to bring back home.
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