Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lording over the center of the square is a statue of
Giordano Bruno,
an intellectual
heretic who was burned on this spot in 1600. When the statue of Bruno was erected in 1889,
riots overcame Vatican protests against honoring a heretic. Bruno faces his nemesis, the Vat-
icanChancellory(thebigwhitebuildingjustoutsidethefar-rightcornerofthesquare),while
hispedestal reads,“Andtheflamesroseup.”Checkoutthereliefsonthepedestal forscenes
from Bruno's trial and execution. Even today, this neighborhood is known for its free spirit
and occasional demonstrations.
Campo de' Fiori is the product ofcenturies ofunplanned urban development. At the east
endofthesquare(behindBruno),theramshackleapartmentsarebuiltrightintotheoldouter
wall of ancient Rome's mammoth Theater of Pompey. This entertainment complex covered
several city blocks, stretching from here to Largo Argentina. Julius Caesar was assassinated
in the Theater of Pompey, where the Senate was renting space.
The square is lined with and surrounded by fun eateries. Bruno faces the
Forno
(in the
left corner of the square). Step in, at least to observe the frenzy as pizza is sold hot out of
the oven. You can order
un etto
(100 grams, an average serving) by pointing, then take your
snacktothecountertopay.Themanybarsliningthesquarearefinefordrinksandwatching
the scene. On weekend nights, when the Campo is packed with beer-drinking kids, this me-
dieval square is transformed into one vast Roman street party.
• If Bruno did a hop, step, and jump forward, then turned right on Via dei Baullari and
marched 200 yards, he'd cross the busy Corso Vittorio Emanuele; then, continuing another
150 yards on Via Cuccagna, he'd find...
Piazza Navona:
This oblong square retains the shape of the original racetrack that was
built around
A.D.
80 by the emperor Domitian. (To see the ruins of the original entrance, exit
the square at the far—or north—end, then take an immediate left, and look down to the left
25 feet below the current street level.) Since ancient times, the square has been a center of
Roman life. In the 1800s, the city would flood the square to cool off the neighborhood.
The
Four Rivers Fountain
in the center is the most famous fountain by the man who
remade Rome in Baroque style, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Four burly river gods (represent-
ing the four continents that were known in 1650) support an Egyptian obelisk. The water
of the world gushes everywhere. The Nile has his head covered, since the headwaters were
unknown then. The Ganges holds an oar. The Danube turns to admire the obelisk, which
Bernini had moved here from a stadium on the Appian Way. And Uruguay's Río de la Plata
tumbles backward in shock, wondering how he ever made the top four. Bernini enlivens the
fountainwithhorsesplungingthroughtherocksandexoticfloraandfaunafromthesenewly
discovered lands. Homesick Texans may want to find the armadillo. (It's the big, weird,
armor-plated creature behind the Plata river statue.)
