Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy

Piazza Navonna

There used to be a racetrack here like the Circus Maximus, but now it is an open piazza, with fountains, shops, and cafes to delight your senses.  A 5-10 minute stroll from the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.

There are so many things which make Piazza Navona such an interesting place. For me one of the most facinating is The church of Sant’Agnese in Agone

Sant’Agnese in Agone is a seventeenth century Baroque church. It faces onto the Piazza Navona and is the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian. A step inside reveals a treasure of art, especially, the statue of St. Agnes. You can see the flames , which were to consume her, parting to spare her life.

For many the gem of the Piazza Navona is The Fountain of the Four Rivers. It depicts Gods of the four great rivers in the four continents as then recognized by the Renaissance geographers: the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia, the Danube in Europe and the Río de la Plata in America.

Each location is further enhanced by animals and plants of that country. The Ganges carries a long oar, representing the river’s navigability. The Nile’s head is draped with a loose piece of cloth, meaning that no one at that time knew exactly where the Nile’s source was. The Danube touches the Papal coat of arms, since it is the largest river closest to Rome. And the Río de la Plata is sitting on a pile of coins, a symbol of the riches America might offer to Europe (the word plata means silver in Spanish).

Each River God is semi-prostrate, in awe of the central tower, epitomized by the slender Egyptian obelisk (built for the Roman Serapeum in AD 81), symbolizing Papal power and surmounted by the Pamphilj symbol of the dove.