Piazza Navona

"Continuing another four minutes down Via del Salvatore will bring you to Piazza Navona, a vibrant center of social and cultural life in Rome built on the site of the 1st century A.D. Stadium of Domitian. Its transformation from a Roman stadium to a Baroque piazza encapsulates the city’s long-standing tradition of repurposing spaces over time, and the name "Navona" is even thought to derive from the Latin word "agones" meaning "games." The oval layout and function of Piazza Navona today as a lively atmosphere hosting street performers, artists, and vendors maintains this connection with its ancient origins as a public space, blending Rome's layers of history. The dramatic Baroque façades flanking the charming cafés, restaurants, and gelaterias here conceal the artistic rivalry between Bernini and Borromini, who were each commissioned to work on different parts of the Piazza, injecting an intriguing layer of historical drama to this site. Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi designed by Gian Bernini in 1651 is the piazza’s centerpiece, featuring allegorical statues representing four major rivers from four continents—the Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Rio de la Plata—and topped with a dominant Egyptian obelisk. The positioning of the statues in Bernini's fountain—particularly the figure of the Nile covering its face—is often interpreted as a critique of Borromini's work on the church this statue faces, Sant'Agnese in Agone."