Piazza Navona, Rome

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In the center of the Piazza Navona is one of Bernini’s most magnificent fountains, built at the base of an Egyptian obelisk - Fountain of the Four Rivers.

While the piazza is set on the site of the ancient stadium for Domitian (1st century AD), the redesign of the piazza into a local community spot didn’t occur until the 1600s when Pope Innocent X decided to fix up the piazza that was home to his family palazzo. Innocent decided to commission a fountain to support the obelisk that had been laying around for centuries in the Circus Maximus, broken into five pieces.

Bernini was the leading sculptor in Rome during this time, but the story is that Pope Innocent purposely would not allow Bernini to put in his bid to create the statue – not sure why, perhaps to give some up and coming artists a chance or maybe he felt Bernini was overwhelmed with all his other projects). Anyway, Bernini did come up with a design and the pope’s nephew found a way to get his uncle to see the design and, as they say, the rest is history.

The fountain is designed around the concept of four large allegorical statues at the base of the obelisk, which appears to be a large rock. These figures represent four rivers of the world – not necessarily the longest or the most famous rivers as we think of them, but remember the time of the sculpture and the geography known in the 1600s. The rivers of the fountain are the Ganges, Danube, Nile, and the Plate.

The obelisk was brought to Rome by Emperor Domitian (same guy who built the stadium where the Piazza Navona is located). The hieroglyphics on the obelisk aren’t really Egyptian since Domitian paid some Romans to carve them and refer to Domitian as the ‘eternal pharaoh’ and record his father and brother as gods. At the top of the obelisk is a dove, which represents Pope Innocent X.

The fountain is a very popular place with tourists and, where lots of tourists are, you can bet the salesmen of cheap sunglasses, knock-off purses, and silly toys will be there. Unfortunately, they were all around the base of the fountain itself so that if you wanted to get up close and look at the fountain, you had to run through the gauntlet of these never-accept-no-for-an-answer guys. Just walk through them, don’t make eye contact, firmly say no, and enjoy Bernini’s fountain!

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Piazza Navona is, for me, the most beautiful square in Rome. It has two incredible fountains, being the “Four Rivers Fountain” (represents Danube, Ganges, Nile, and Rio de la Plata) the most well-known.

In the square you can also find church, lots of restaurants, at afternoon/evening: artists and also a café (Tre Scalini) that serves Tartufo: a rich handmade chocolate ice cream roll – if you want to eat it seated on the restaurant the price will double.

Advice: just bring it outside and eat it one of the Piazza’s benches.

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We were delighted to find the Piazza Navona. It really is a charming and romantic square which felt much more relaxed than the frantic city does generally. The 3 fountains are all beautiful but the central fountain of the 4 rivers is a remarkable work of art, especially when viewed at sunset with the church of St Agnes in Agony as a backdrop. The restaurants and cafes on the square are naturally somewhat overpriced due to their location, but it is worth stoping at least for a coffee and a bit of people watching in one of them in my opinion, just for the experience. All the restaurants do seem to be quite aggressive in trying to get passersby in to their premises however, which can be annoying.

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I first read about Piazza Navona in a book about the history of art for children, before I ever visited it. The book told the story of the Baroque sculptor and architect Bernini, who lost the contract to build the church in Piazza Navona to his competitor, and then took his revenge: When he designed the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the four Rivers) in the center of the piazza, one prominent figure appears as if he is afraid the church is going to collapse and fall on his head (see main photo).

Since then I have visited Rome several times, and every time I am drawn to this magnificent Baroque piazza. You walk through the small lanes of old Rome and it suddenly opens up in front of you in all its beauty. In its center there is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. The four river-gods of the world recline majestically, representing the four continents where Papal dominance had spread by the 17th century: Danube (representing Europe), Nile (Africa), Ganges (Asia) and Plate (America). An obelisk with the Pamphili family emblem (dove and olive twig) towers above them.

This is only one detail of the great harmonious whole which makes Piazza Navona what it is. In Roman times there was a stadium in this place, which accounts for its elongated shape.
In the 16th century this was Rome's public market square. The piazza as we see it today was commissioned by Pope Innocent X in the 17th century, glorifying his family, the Pamphili. The Pamphili palace (by Rainaldi), the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone (by Borromini and others), and two smaller fountains at either end of the piazza are other parts of the whole harmonious ensemble.

But besides the buildings, sculptures and fountains, the other source of attraction of Piazza Navona are the people. Romans and, of course, lots of tourists, some of them first-timers in Rome who try to take it all in. There are street artists, local bands playing popular Italian melodies, photographers, tour guides, and lots of people in the cafes and restaurants.

One thing is sure: Piazza Navona is a must in every visit to Rome!

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If you see one thing at night in Rome, make it this fountain in the Piazza Navona. This sculpture and masterpiece was created by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). It was commissioned by Pope Innocent X to add a flourish to his family compound and creating a fountain for Romans by using the recently restored waters of the Acqua Vergine. In the centre is the Egyptian Obelisk taken from the Circus of Massenzio. The four mammoth figures on the sides represent 4 great rivers of the known world and were created by 4 of Bernini’s students. They are:
• The figure of Nile - sculpted by Jacopo Antonio Fancelli and represents Africa
• The Ganges by Claude Poussin (Asia)
• The Danube by Antonio Raggi (Europe)
• The Plate by Francesco Baratta (Americas)
If you get the chance to see this fabulous fountain on a warm Roman night you will truly understand Rome. The Piazza is alive with cafes, restaurants, scooters and a buzz of people. Its pretty good in the daytime too.

History

One of Rome's most favous squares, or piazzas, Piazza Navona was built on the site of previous Roman monuments (like most of the city) - namely Stadium of Domitian, which does explain its oval shape. There is still a sign of Domitian left on the square - it's his obelisk that is part of the central fountain we can see today.

It is also one of the finest examples of Baroque Rome, with churches (Sant'Agnese in Agone and also Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore), fountains (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers, Fontana del Moro or Fountain of the Moor, and the Fountain of Neptune), and palaces (Palazzo Pamphili and Palazzo Braschi)

The square is a place teeming with artists, souvenir sellers, musicians, eateries and overall one could easily spend a couple of hours if visiting the monuments themselves.

Warnings

As with most popular tourist locations, beware of pick-pockets (we had an unpleasant experience at another square, that by the Trevi fountain). Also be very much prepared for the fact that it will be crowded.

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One of the more popular city squares in Rome, there were many people just hanging out at this piazza. A beautiful fountain, Fontana dei Quatrro Fiumi, is located in the piazza in front of the Palazzo Pamphilj. There are also two other fountains at the southern end of the piazza. It's very close to the Pantheon so you should combine this visit.

Some tidbits of information:

Fontana dei Quatrro Fiumi was built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1651. Dan Brown's book, Angels and Demons, listed the fountain as one of the Altars of Science and the southern end of the piazza was used in the filming of the movie.

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An example of Baroque urban planning.
The Piazza was built in 1st century to stage athletics competitions.

Its name was gradually corrupted by the Roman dialect during the Middle-Ages:
The "Piazza in Agone" became the "Piazza N'Agone", and finally the "Piazza Navona".