Start with the Piazza della Rotonda, home to the Pantheon, built by Hadrian and burial site of Victor Emmanuel II, King Umberto I and Raffaello.
The immense structure will also provide a welcome respite from the intense heat as you tread on the finely polished marble patterned in "Opus Sectile" style. The most impressive part of the jaw-dropping Pantheon is the precisely equal height and diameter of the dome. Legend says that even when standing under the dome's opening when it rains one doesn't get wet as rain evaporates before it reaches you. I can't say I have tested that myself...
Just around the corner, the best place to stop for an iced coffee complete with towering cream is the Gelatteria Giolitti: a good place to ponder the enormity of the feat of architecture that stands in those columns if you have a sweet tooth.
Head west across Corso del Rinascimento on to Piazza Navona, renovated in the 17th Century to Baroque style, the long narrow square is a hub of activity. Street vendors, artists and tourists mill around making this square on of Rome's busiest. At the center of it stands Bernini's most famous work, a stunning fountain: the Fontana dei Fiumi. Dating back to 1651, the fountain's four giant statues represent the Nile, the Danube, the Ganges and the Rio della Plata representing four rivers in each quarter of the world.
Across from the fountain is the Sant'Angese in Agone church. Commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1652 but then handled by Francesco Borromini, the dome and twin bell towers are a reminder of the fierce rivalry between Borromini and Bernini. The story says, one of the statues in the Fontana dei Fiumi is shielding his face from the church so as not to suffer such a sight while on top of the church's façade a solitary statue also turns his head away from the square ignoring the fountain. Lasting feuds are the best!
Walking south past Piazza S. Pantaleo and down Via Baullari will lead you to Campo di Fiori. Another focal point of the city, it is best known for its food markets and lively nightlife and is lined with bars and trattorias. But the square wasn't always a happy party place, a bronze statue of the philosopher Giordano Bruno is a reminder of his burning at the stake here in 1600 for being a heretic.
Go To Page: 1 2
