Rome: Where All Roads Lead - Italy - page 59

Behind the Pantheon, in front of the Gothic Church of Santa Maria sopra
Minerva, sits Il Pulcino della Minerva —also known as Bernini's elephant—which
was symbolic in the Catholic Church for its wisdom and abstinence (elephants are
notoriously monogamous).
PIAZZA NAVONA

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From the Pantheon it is less than a 10-minute walk west to Piazza Navona, which
may be Rome's favorite square. It sits above an ancient stadium built by Emperor
Domitian, which you can still see below the modern city from the Piazza di Tor
Sanguigna, 16, on the northern end of the oval. The old stadium was often flooded
for mock sea battles, which is said to be where Navona, which means boat in
Roman dialect, is derived. Call % 06-67103819 for guided tours of the old sta-
dium Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 1pm.
In the center of the modern piazza above is Bernini's famous Fontana dei
Quattro Fiumi, which represents the four rivers of paradise: the Nile, Ganges,
Plate, and Danube. There is a false legend that Bernini designed one of the stat-
ues facing the church of Sant'Agnese to shield its eyes from the “horror of the
church.” If you look above the church of Sant'Agnese, you'll see what old timers
say is the statue of a woman who is turned away from the fountain in disgust. But
the legend, which is a delightful piece of trivia, is false—the fountain was built
before the church. Bernini's statues, instead, are shielding their eyes from the
unknown source of the rivers.
At the north end of Piazza Navona is the lovely Fontana del Nettuno
(Fountain of Neptune) showing Neptune fighting a sea serpent. The Fontana
del Moro (Fountain of the Moor) on the opposite end depicts another sea god
and a dolphin designed by Bernini.
Just north of Piazza Navona, the Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo Altemps

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(Piazza Sant'Apollinare, 48; % 06-6833566; adults € 7, seniors and students
€ 3.50; Tues-Sun 9am-7:45pm), tucked inside Palazzo Altemps, is one of Rome's
most charming museums. It is rarely crowded and houses some of Rome's most
famous private and public collections of art. This is the type of museum you visit
as much for the venue as for the collections. The pieces here are not great in num-
ber, but they are individually superb. Room 7, in particular, has two 1st-century
statues of Apollo the Lyrist, and in the south loggia do not miss the Galatian
Soldier and His Wife Committing Suicide in Room 26, or the famous bust of the
mother of Emperor Claudius in Room 21.
On the other side of Piazza Navona, the Museo di Roma (Palazzo Braschi, Via
di San Pantaleo, 10; % 06-67108346; www.museodiroma.comune.roma.it; adults
€ 6.20, seniors and students € 3.10; Tues-Sun 9am-7pm) is a wonderful respite
from the summer heat, but it's not the best museum in Rome unless you are inter-
ested in recent history. There is an abundance of exhibits here depicting Rome in
the 17th century and later, which does give perspective to the transition from
ancient to modern Rome. There are many sculptures and drawings, but more
interesting are the furnishings and clothing from wealthy Roman families.
There are also a handful of churches in this area worth ducking into. Chiesa
Nuova/Santa Maria in Vallicella (Piazza della Chiesa Nuova; % 06-6875289)

houses stunning frescoes, including Neri's Vision of the Virgin and the Assumption
of the Virgin, in the main apse by Pietro da Cortona. Down the street, Santa Maria

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