Piazza Navona () is a public open space in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is built on the site of the

Stadium of Domitian The Stadium of Domitian ( it, Stadio di Domiziano), also known as the ''Circus Agonalis'', was located to the north of the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The Stadium was commissioned around AD 80 by the Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus as a gift t ...

, built in the 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The

ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

went there to watch the '' agones'' ("games"), and hence it was known as "''Circus Agonalis''" ("competition arena"). It is believed that over time the name changed to ''in avone'' to ''navone'' and eventually to ''navona''.

History

The space currently occupied by the Piazza Navona was originally the Stadium of Domitian, built by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus in 80 AD. Following the

Fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its va ...

, the stadium fell into ruin, being quarried for building materials. Very little of it remains today. Defined as a public space in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred there from the

Campidoglio The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...

, Piazza Navona was transformed into a highly significant example of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

Roman architecture and art during the pontificate of Innocent X, who reigned from 1644 until 1655, and whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced the piazza. It features important sculptural creations: in the centre stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

, topped by the Obelisk of Domitian, brought in pieces from the

Circus of Maxentius The Circus of Maxentius (known until the 19th century as the Circus of Caracalla) is an ancient structure in Rome, Italy, part of a complex of buildings erected by emperor Maxentius on the Via Appia between AD 306 and 312. It is situated between ...

; the church of

Sant'Agnese in Agone Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona) is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christi ...

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino

Girolamo Rainaldi Girolamo Rainaldi (4 May 1570 – 15 July 1655) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects. He was a successful competitor of Bernini. His son, Carlo Rainaldi, became an even ...

Carlo Rainaldi Carlo Rainaldi (4 May 1611 – 8 February 1691) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period. Biography Born in Rome, Rainaldi was one of the leading architects of 17th century Rome, known for a certain grandeur in his designs. He worked at f ...

and others; and the aforementioned Pamphili palace, also by Girolamo Rainaldi, that accommodates the long gallery designed by Borromini and frescoed by

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

View of the flooded Piazza Navona, Rome (by Antonio Joli)

Piazza Navona has two other fountains. At the southern end is the '' Fontana del Moro'' with a basin and four Tritons sculpted by

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome. Biography Giacomo Della Porta was ...

(1575) to which, in 1673, Bernini added a statue of a Moor, wrestling with a dolphin. At the northern end is the Fountain of Neptune (1574) also created by Giacomo della Porta; the statue of Neptune, by Antonio Della Bitta, was added in 1878 to create a balance with ''La Fontana del Moro''. During its history, the piazza has hosted theatrical events and other ephemeral activities. From 1652 until 1866, when the festival was suppressed, it was flooded on every Saturday and Sunday in August in elaborate celebrations of the

Pamphili The House of Pamphili (often with the final ''long i'' orthography, Pamphilj) was one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, the Pamphili family line merged w ...

family. The pavement level was raised in the 19th century, and in 1869 the market was moved to the nearby

Campo de' Fiori Campo de' Fiori (, literally "field of flowers") is a rectangular square south of Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, at the border between rione Parione and rione Regola. It is diagonally southeast of the Palazzo della Cancelleria and one block nort ...

. A Christmas market is held in the piazza square. Piazza Navona - olio su tavola - anno 1962 - di Paolo Salvati

Lieven Cruyl - Veduti - Erfgoedfonds Koning Boudewijnstichting - Fonds du Patrimoine Fondation Roi Baudouin - 4

Other monuments

* Stabilimenti Spagnoli * Palazzo de Cupis * Palazzo Torres Massimo Lancellotti * Church of

Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore ("Our Lady of the Sacred Heart", also known as San Giacomo degli Spagnoli and in Spanish, Santiago de los Españoles) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in Rome's Piazza Navona. History An ...

* Palazzo Braschi (Museo di Roma) *

Literature and films

*The piazza is featured in Dan Brown's 2000 thriller ''

Angels & Demons ''Angels & Demons'' is a 2000 bestselling mystery-thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who recurs as the protagonist of ...

'', in which the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is listed as one of the Altars of Science. During June 2008,

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

directed several scenes of the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of ''Angels & Demons'' on the southern section of the piazza. *The piazza is featured in several scenes of director

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

' 1970 adaptation of

Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...

's novel, ''

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non- ...

''. *The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was used in the 1990 film '' Coins in the Fountain''. The characters threw coins into the fountain as they made wishes. The

Trevi Fountain The Trevi Fountain ( it, Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the lar ...

was used in the 1954 version of the film. *It is featured in ''

National Lampoon's European Vacation ''National Lampoon's European Vacation'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Robert Klane. The second film in National Lampoon's ''Vacation'' film series, it stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill, ...

'' *In the 1964 Italian comedy film ''

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow ''Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow'' ( it, Ieri, oggi, domani) is a 1963 comedy anthology film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It stars Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. The film consists of three short stories about couples in different ...

'' ("''ieri, oggi, domani''")

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

's character Mara lives in a second-floor apartment overlooking Piazza Navona in Rome. *The piazza is featured in Eugene Levy's film, ''Once Upon A Crime''. *The piazza is featured in the 2017 film '' American Assassin.'' *The piazza is featured in scenes in the 1999 film '' The Talented Mr. Ripley''.

Vandalism

In the early hours of 3 September 2011, the '' Fontana del Moro'' was damaged by a vandal. Police later found the man, who had been captured on security cameras climbing in the fountain, wielding a large rock and decapitating some of the larger and smaller figures, after they recognised him by his shoes.

Notes

View of the Piazza Navona, Rome LACMA 49

References

* * *

External links

*
Virtual Tour of Piazza Navona

Bernini Fountains Video Introduction
*High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images o
Piazza Navona , Art Atlas

Piazza Navona audio guide
* * {{Authority control Navona Baroque architecture in Rome Sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini Rome R. VI Parione