Piazza Navona

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In italian : Piazza Navona

In the heart of Rome’s historic centre, Piazza Navona (Navona Square) is one of the most lively and enchanting places in the city, with its painters, restaurants, cafés and glaciers, and especially its monuments and baroque fountains. The centre is a monumental masterpiece by Bernini in the middle of which stands a large obelisk.

Presentation and History

The 240-metre long Piazza Navona has kept the shape of the ancient Stadium of Domitian, whose remains can be found below street level. It has become an emblematic expression of the Baroque period, with its fountains, churches and monuments.

Navona Square with Fountain of the Moor

In the centre, the monumental Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, 1648 – 1651) is the work of Bernini. Its statues represent the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube and the Rio de la Plata. In the middle, on a carved rock was erected the beautiful obelisk that decorated the Circus of Maxentius on the Appian Way. Built in Egypt, it was probably commissioned by Domitian as indicated by his hieroglyphs. It originally adorned the Temple of Isis which was located in the Pantheon district.
The other two beautiful baroque fountains dating from the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries, the Fountain of the Moor (Fontana del Moro) and the Fountain of Neptune (Fontana di Nettuno), were all or partially built by Giacomo della Porta.
The Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone is opposite the central fountain with a beautiful baroque facade by Borromini, another master of the time who marked the city of Rome
Adjacent to Sant’Agnese, the prestigious Palazzo Pamphilj now houses the Brazilian Embassy.