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 | Rome Piazza Navona Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 237 |  |
 | |  |  | Piazza Navona: Piazza Navona - Fountains abound | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
The fountain designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is surmounted by a Roman obelisk topped by the papal dove, crest of Pope .
Bernini's scholars assisted in the execution of the central fountain of the rivers (Photo 2) Ganges, Nile, Danube and Rio de la Plata which represented (at that time) the four corners of the earth (apologies to the Aussies). The Bernini-Borromini rivalry is notorious and it has been said that explains the hand of Rio de la Plata, scared that the church built by Borromini might fall on him, and the Nile covering his head in order not to see the church of the rival. These gestures could also be interpreted as a symbol of mankind, scared and ignorant. The fountain, in fact, was designed and completed before Borromini received the commission for the Church of Santa Agnese.
Always crowded by tourists during the day and a center of night life, Piazza Navona was embellished at the end of XIXth century by the addition of the third fountain on the north side.
Bernini redesigned a previous basin by Giacomo della Porta adding the central statue "il Moro" (the Moor), which he personally sculpted (photo 3). Address: Piazza NavonaDirections: Rome Center
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| | | | Piazza Navona: Fontana Dei Fiumi | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Under Pope Urbano VIII Barberini, Gian Lorenzo Bernini had always designed all the fountains, but when Pope Urbano died, Pope Innocenzo X Pamphilj dismissed Bernini and tried to employ Francesco Borromini to build a central fountain in Piazza Navona where his family mansion stood.
Since Borromini's proposed design was too simple for the Pope's taste, Bernini took advantage of the situation and asked the Pope's sister-in-law Dame Olimpia (Pimpaccia to the Romans who did not care for her) Maidalchini to interfere on his behalf. To please the Dame, Pope Innocenzo agreed to use Bernini. In doing so, he also raised the tax on bread to cover the astronomical cost of the new fountain.
Fountain of the Four Rivers is the most complex and ingenious composition among Rome's fountains.
Bernini designed four allegories to represent the major rivers and continents according to the 17th century atlases: Ercole Antonio Raggi carved the Danube (Europe); Claudio Poussin carved the Ganges (Asia); the Rio della Plata (America) by Francesco Baratta; and the Nile (Africa) by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli. The last allegory has a veiled head because the river source was unknown at the time. There are also a variety of flora and fauna (a horse, a sea monster, a snake, a lion, a large fish, a palm tree, and a group of cacti) for the continents' symbols. Two plaques of fleur-de-lis (Pope Innocenzo's coat of arms) hung on the north and south side of the rock.
Rising high and mighty from the middle is the obelisk that was removed from the Circo Massimo, with a dove holding an olive branch -- Pope Innocenzo X's own personal symbol and also one part of the Holy Trinity -- surmounts the entire ensemble, causing the entire fountain to stand as a glorification of the Pope and the Church. Bernini made the obelisk look much taller and weightless by placing it over a group of rocks that form a cavity below, and hung two Pamphilj crests to represent Pope Innocenzo X's religious power over the world. Leave a Comment Address: Piazza Navona
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| | | | Piazza Navona: Fontana dei Calderai (Fontana del Nettuno ) | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Located in the northern end of Piazza Navona, this fountain was commissioned to Giacomo della Porta in 1574.
Same as with Fontana del Moro on the southern end, the material being used was Portasanta, the special rose marble that was used for St Peter's doorjambs. In Della Porta's design, the two fountains would be comparable in appearance with tritons and large masks, but the project was never carried through and this fountain remained without statues and decorations for three hundred years.
Without an identity, the residents named it after the tradesmen in the area: Fountain of the Coppersmiths (Fontana dei Calderai).
Finally, on 1878, the fountain finally got its proper name of Fountain of Neptune after Antonio Della Bitta was commissioned to carve the statue of Neptune slaying a giant octopus, and Gregorio Zappalà carved the group of 8 sea figures playing in the basin: two sea horses, two cherubs, two dolphins, and two Nereids (sea nymphs). Leave a Comment Address: Piazza Navona
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| | | | Piazza Navona: Piazza Navona - The Heart of the City | Tip Rating: | | | | |
While Rome has many wonderful areas, perhaps the heart of the historical center is here, Piazza Navona. Night life until 2-3 in the morning - mimes, artists, beggers, restaurants, bars, famous ice cream, wonderful shops, musicians, a gorgeous church, and three fabulous fountains! Yes, maybe the food and drinks are overpriced - but sitting in the piazza watching the world go by is so lovely, how can you complain?
If spending extra for the view and scene offends you, see my tip on the neaby but almost hidden restaurant LaFocaccia where you can spend less but eat well.
The oval (but small) shape of the piazza follows the curves of the original stadium, built by Domitian. Originally called the Piazza "in Agone" for the contests he staged here ("agone" were classical Greek nude atheletic contests), the name was corrupted over the years from "in agone" to Navona.
However, the name of the beautiful Church, St. Agnes in Agone, remained unchanged. It's still being restored, but is now open to visitors.
Take a closer look at my photo of a detail of Bernini's Fountain of Four Rivers, which is in the center of the piazza. A bit of trivia with which you can amaze your friends (or not): the drain for the fountain is hidden in the mouth of the fish! Check it out for yourself. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Piazza Navona: Piazza Navona, the elegent lady | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Perhaps the most beautiful piazza in the city, Piazza Navona used to be a Roman circus (that’s why its shape is elliptical). This elegant area, surrounded by beautiful houses, the Church of Sant’Agnese and adorned by three of Bernini’s fountains is a Roman trademark. And of course, let us not forget the mandatory obelisk! I recommend you take a moment to sit down and enjoy a coffee while looking at people passing by… very relaxing and enjoyable. The main fountain is La Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi (1651) or Fountains of the Four Rivers. The fountain was so big that Bernini didn't sculpt the figures himself but had his scholars do it. Claude Poussin sculpted Ganges, the Nile was done by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli, the Danube by Antonio Raggi il Lombardo and the Rio de la Plata by Francesco Baratta. Ordered by Innocent X after many intrigues between arch-rivals Bernini and Borromini, this was such an exensive piece of works, taxes had to be levied on bread (which prompted such reactions from the Romans: We need something else than spires and fountains. We want bread: bread, bread, bread). Leave a Comment Address: Junction of Via della Cuccagna, Corsia Agonale,
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| | | | Piazza Navona: Piazza Navona | Tip Rating: | | | | |
This piazza, situated a mere stone throw away from the Panteon again has one of Bernini's creation in the form of a fountain *and yes, I am going into THE book again* - this is where the 'water' clue can be found :-)
The main feature to this piazza is the central fountain by Bernini - the Fontana dei Fiumi.
The first thing obvious is the structure that supports an obelisk that was an ancient Roman imitation of the Egyptian form. All around this structure are four giant statues by Bernini's pupils following his designs representing the Nile, the Danube, the Ganges, and the Rio della Plata, each representing one of the four quarters of the world.
The piazza itself is flanked by open air cafes so there is plenty of opportunites to simply relax, enjoy the ambience and have a cuppa relaxing coffee *or tea if that catches your fancy*. There is also plenty of buskers around the piazza, a pleasant occupation to see.. a coupla euros and some of the mimes will even have do a stint or two for you!
Unfortunately, the piazza's gorgeous views is marred by the fact of the tons of street peddlers selling their wares - usually fake designer bags. There was this huge fight between an Italian peddler and a foreign one (I think its Indian and African) that knocked the Indian out cold and plenty of bloodshed on the Italian - the intervention of the local police did not dispel some of the fear of the piazza, especially at night! And this fight was in broad daylight even.
Don't let this tip stop you from going tho - jz be careful. Leave a Comment Address: Piazza NovonaDirections: Plenty of signs available as a guide fom the Pantheon.
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| | | | Piazza Navona: Beautiful Piazza | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Piazza Navona is a great place to people watch, eat and walk around. It has an unusual, elongated oval shape that is the same as that of the ancient Domiziano Stadium over which the square was built. The centerpiece of this square is the Fontana dei Fiumi by Bernini, which is the base of the Egyptian obelisk in the center; and Palazzo Pamphili & Fontana del Moro. Around the Fontana dei Fiumi are four giant statues by Bernini's pupils following his designs representing the Nile, the Danube, the Ganges, and the Rio della Plata, each representing one of the four quarters of the world. There are also open air cafes which serves nice food & wine (at a higher price, of course). The area is also lively with painters and buskers who will entertain for a fee
Personally, I find the square to be a wonderful piece of history and art. However, it is somehow shadowed by the numerous vendors selling fake designer bags, cheap toys and all sorts of tacky (probably made in china plastic souvenirs) right in front of the monuments. It tough to take a nice picture of the whole fountain without having them in the picture Directions: Near to the Pantheon
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