Piazza Navona Rome Fountains in the Square

Rome is a city made of many beautiful piazzas or squares. As the capital city of Italy, it does need to impress visitors and this is a great way to do this. Other European capitals and cities that are mecca's to the tourist should really take notice of this.

There are too many fountains to count and to see on one visit, but as you return to Rome you will find yourself drawn to visit a good number of them. The piazza's are open public squares and when you visit them you will see how they seem to be a major part of the city. They can be seen as a dominant feature of the current architecture, which does seem almost based around them.

All the major ones, of which the Piazza Navona is one of the most renowned, have fountains and or monuments in them, sometimes more than one. This Piazza dates from the middle of XVIth Century and sits atop many Ancient Roman ruins. In the case of Navona Square, it is the Circus Domitianus or Domitian's stadium that lies beneath your feet as you wander around.

What there is in Navona Square

The four principal parts to the piazza are: the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, the Fontana dei Fiumi (four rivers fountain), Fontana di Nettuno (fountain of Neptune) and Fontana del Moro (fountain of the Moor). The principal architect was Gian Lorenzo Bernini one of the two main players in the Italian architectural world of the time. Others who participated were G. Rainaldi and Francesco Borromini. The architectural style that dominated XVIth Century Italy was Baroque, and G. Bernini was its most famous exponent, adding a highly dramatic flourish to it.

The Great Fountains of Rome in Piazza Navona

The three fountains here are quite literally, breathtaking. The centrepiece is the Fountain of Rivers, which was completed in 1651. The four rivers are the Nile, Danube, Ganges and Rio della Plata; each one representing a quarter of the world. These rivers are embodied in the statue that has, at the base, a rocky structure supporting an obelisk, that used to be at the Massenzio Circus. The Fountain of Neptune, also known as the Calderari, is at the northern end of the square was built by Giacomo della Porta, a student of Bernini's, in 1576, although the statues of Neptune and sea nymphs were added in the XIXth Century. Also by Giacomo della Porta, the Fountain of the Moor is at the southern end in front of the Palazzo Pamphilij featuring a statue of a Moor fighting a dolphin that was built in the XVIIth Century, although the tritons were only added in the XIXth Century.

Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone

Moving on to the church, for which there are two Christian legends, either a twelve-year old girl refused to marry a pagan and was killed here becoming a martyr, or was exposed naked but her hair miraculously grew covering her. Such events or legends often led to religious monuments being built to commemorate them and to contain their holiness. The church's construction lasted from 1652 to 1670. The principal parts are the dome and the twin bell towers, but please take a moment to admire the facade, because supposedly one of the statues was deliberately built to not look at fountain when it should be. There is the popular legend that the statues of the Fountain of Rivers are covering their faces so as to gaze at the church.

How Piazza Navona got its name

The squares name has changed many times through history, this is how we believe it has come to be called what it is now. Domitian's stadium, on which the square stands, was referred to as the Circus Agonalis, which translates to a competition arena for what were Greek-styled games. The space it took up was greater than that of the mighty Colosseum In addition, names often change as cultures and nations rise and fall; there was no exception here as historians have argued that it went from Agonalis to In Agone to Nagone into Navone and finally resting at Navona.

Architects of the Piazza Navona

The stadium's space had been more or less abandoned since the Vth Century when Constant II had covered it with marble. The art-loving pope, Innocent X, commissioned Francesco Borromini, the other major player in the Italian world of Baroque architecture, to bring it to life in 1647. He initially asked Borromini to complete the whole project. Bernini somehow managed to get himself involved in the project and more or less took control of it, it is said. These two artists were great rivals, which is said to extend into the production of the church and fountains themselves.

Attractions to visit around Piazza Navona

There is much to see and do in and around the Piazza Navona. Go south to the "talking" statue of Pasquino. Visit the Church of St. Luis of the French with its frescoes. Stop by the Palazzo of Sapienza with its Church of Sant'Ivo all Sapienza. If you come during the Christmas break there is a market here through December into early January. This is a lively, seasonal market running up to "Befana.", which is an old legend, marking the end of the Christmas season. Alternatively, just sit in a cafe admiring the mimes, painters or singers.