Piazza Venezia (; "Venice Square") is a central hub of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, in which several thoroughfares intersect, including the

Via dei Fori Imperiali The Via dei Fori Imperiali (formerly ''Via dei Monti'', then ''Via dell'Impero'') is a road in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, that is in a straight line from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. Its course takes it over parts of the For ...

and the

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

. It takes its name from the

Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia (; "Venice Palace") or Palazzo Barbo, formerly Palazzo di San Marco ("Saint Mark's Palace"), is a large early Renaissance palace in central Rome, Italy, situated to the north of the Capitoline Hill. Today the property of the ...

, built by the Venetian Cardinal, Pietro Barbo (later

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II (; ; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched fr ...

) alongside the church of Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice. The Palazzo Venezia served as the embassy of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

in Rome.

Square

One side of the Piazza is the site of Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the

Altare della Patria The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (), also known as the Vittoriano or for synecdoche Altare della Patria ("Altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king ...

, part of the Monument to

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

, first king of Italy. The piazza or square is at the foot of the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, 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 (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

and next to

Trajan's Forum Trajan's Forum (; ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war f ...

. The main artery, the Via dei Fori Imperiali begins there and leads past the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

to the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

. Most tourists in Rome visit the Piazza Venezia, which is a short walk from several of Rome's best known sights, including the Roman Forum, Capitoline Hill, Palazzo Venezia, and the famous Pantheon.

History

Capitalizing on this modern and ancient symbolism--and the useful open space--Piazza Venezia was the location of public speeches given by the Italian dictator

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

to crowds of his supporters in the 1920s-1940s.

Excavations

In 2009, during excavations in the middle of the square for the construction of the Rome C Metro Line ( station Venezia), remains of the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

's Athenaeum were unearthed.''Unearthed in Rome’s New Subway: Extinct Elephants and Persian Peach Pits''
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 18, 2017.

References

External links

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Rome R. IX Pigna {{Rome-stub