Piazza Navona, the square built on the site of a former Roman stadium in the heart of Rome
Hello travelers
I'm fascinated by the places we managed to discover in Rome, in one of my blogs the other day I showed you Piazza di Spagna and a few other places in the surroundings (if you want to have a look at this blog you can find it here), not far from these places we discovered Piazza Navona, as I wrote Rome must be discovered on foot.
In our case, even though the sights were quite close to each other, we didn't manage to visit very many in one day, we don't like running from one sight to another and, above all, we follow our sightseeing rules, namely not walking around after dark (only in very few cases we didn't).
I discovered this place after we visited Phanteon, I was sitting on a curb and looking for something on the internet related to our schedule (you know how it is, plans at home don't always match the ones at the spot) when I found it by mistake on google, at first glance it looked interesting so I looked for more information about it, everything I managed to find about Piazza Navona made me put it on my list, so I ended up here.
And again lost in the elegant streets of Rome, I don't know if I've ever been so enchanted in other cities when walking the streets, in Rome it was something special, I couldn't go on and not show you what I discovered in Piazza della Minerva, somehow it caught my attention, a marble monument (I hope I'm not wrong) depicting on a pedestal an elephant that seemed to be carrying an Egyptian obelisk on its back.
As I got closer, I could see the details that emphasized the beauty of the monument.
Okay, moving on, it seems that the place is very well known because I've seen enough signs to get you there as quickly as possible.
Piazza Navona is a public place and you don't have to pay any entrance fee or anything else, instead you have to be patient because the place is visited by many tourists, I only have a few photos where there are no tourists otherwise it is really impossible to take such photos, maybe if you come here at dawn or even more in the morning you would find the place emptier, because the rest of the day is very crowded.
After exploring the square, I discovered that there are three fountains here, one of which is very famous, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, and to help you better understand the history of this square, I'll leave you with some interesting facts below.
Piazza Navona is a famous public square in Rome. It was built on the site of an ancient stadium, Domitian's Stadium, in 85 A.D. and has retained its characteristic oval shape. The square is surrounded by historic buildings and is known for its three famous fountains, in particular the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Piazza Navona has a rich history and was a center of social and cultural life during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
The Stadium of Domitian, which had a larger arena than the Colosseum, was used for festivities and sporting events. The fact that Piazza Navona was built on the site of the former stadium also explains its oval shape. The stadium was known as Circus Agonalis and it is believed that over time the name changed to 'in agone' and then to 'navone' and finally to 'navona'.
At the center of the square is Gian Lorenzo Bernini's famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) (1651), dominated by the Obelisk of Domitian, brought in pieces from the Circus of Maxentius.
The Fountain of the Four Rivers represents four rivers, one from each continent, known at the time: the Danube, the Nile, the Gang and the Rio de la Plata.
The other two fountains in the square are the Fontana di Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune) and the Fontana del Moro (Fountain of the Moor). The Fountain of Neptune, also known as Calderari, was built in 1576 by Giacomo della Porta. The statue of Neptune surrounded by statues of sea nymphs were added in the 19th century. Giacomo della Porta is also the builder of the Fountain of the Moor and the central statue, a Moor holding a dolphin, was added in the 117th century. Tritons were added later in the 19th century.
As in any touristy place, you will find souvenir shops and even many street vendors (I have to be honest that some of these street vendors seemed dubious to me), but if you are cautious, you will certainly enjoy the amazing architecture of the buildings in this square and, of course, the three fountains.
Dear visitors of my blog today, I also want to share with you that after visiting this market, I went and had a good Italian meal somewhere near the Phanteon, and so I get to share with you another amazing place in Rome, Italy.
THE END!
If you liked what you saw and read here please don't forget to give a LiKe, Follow, reBlog or a Comment, for all this I thank you, and until the next post I say goodbye.
P.S. The attached picture you have just seen are taken by me with my mobile phone(Samsung Galaxy S21), and the text is also designed by me.
Yours @triplug😉