Description
Piazza del Popolo is the great elliptical square at the foot of the Pincio, where the Via Flaminia enters the city. For centuries everyone arriving in Rome from the north passed through here: the square was meant to make an impression, and it still does.
In the center the 24-meter obelisk of Ramesses II is surrounded by four Egyptian-style lions spouting water. At the far end, two twin churches, Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, face the mouth of three streets fanning out.
Those three streets, Via del Babuino, Via del Corso and Via di Ripetta, form the Trident. Beside the gate is Santa Maria del Popolo, a church that holds two masterpieces by Caravaggio, the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter, as well as frescoes by Pinturicchio and an Assumption by Annibale Carracci.
On the two sides the square closes in two exedras with fountains. In the one toward the Tiber is a Neptune with two tritons. In the one toward the Pincio is the goddess Roma with the Tiber and the Aniene at her sides, and at her feet the she-wolf nursing the twins.
On the opposite side, tree-lined ramps climb to the Pincio, the terrace from which you see the square from above, with the sunset over the rooftops of Rome. The Pincio became the Romans' favorite promenade. The square, now a pedestrian island, hosts public events and can hold up to 65,000 people.
The name is a little mystery. Perhaps it comes from Latin populus, poplar, for a grove near Nero's tomb. Perhaps from the chapel the Roman people paid for in the Middle Ages, the future church: the Madonna was the people's, and the square became the People's.
Every pope had a hand in it. In 1589 Sixtus V had the obelisk raised, brought to Rome by Augustus and previously set up in the Circus Maximus. Alexander VII wanted the twin churches, begun by Rainaldi and finished by Bernini.
The elliptical shape of today, though, dates from Napoleon's time: it was designed by Giuseppe Valadier, with the two exedras decorated with fountains and statues and the tree-lined ramps climbing to the Pincio. It was he, in 1823, who placed the four lions around the obelisk.
The Porta del Popolo has an outer facade of 1562-65 and an inner one arranged by Bernini in 1655. The church of Santa Maria del Popolo was rebuilt in the 1400s and made Baroque by Bernini, who also signed the fine organ held up by two little bronze angels.
Don't miss
• Santa Maria del Popolo and its Caravaggios.
• The four lions of the obelisk.
• The terrace of the Pincio.
• The twin churches.
Did you know?
• The church of Santa Maria del Popolo rose over the tomb of the Domitii, where Nero was buried.
• It was once called "Piazza del Trullo," after a round monument nearby.
In the center the 24-meter obelisk of Ramesses II is surrounded by four Egyptian-style lions spouting water. At the far end, two twin churches, Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, face the mouth of three streets fanning out.
Those three streets, Via del Babuino, Via del Corso and Via di Ripetta, form the Trident. Beside the gate is Santa Maria del Popolo, a church that holds two masterpieces by Caravaggio, the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter, as well as frescoes by Pinturicchio and an Assumption by Annibale Carracci.
On the two sides the square closes in two exedras with fountains. In the one toward the Tiber is a Neptune with two tritons. In the one toward the Pincio is the goddess Roma with the Tiber and the Aniene at her sides, and at her feet the she-wolf nursing the twins.
On the opposite side, tree-lined ramps climb to the Pincio, the terrace from which you see the square from above, with the sunset over the rooftops of Rome. The Pincio became the Romans' favorite promenade. The square, now a pedestrian island, hosts public events and can hold up to 65,000 people.
The name is a little mystery. Perhaps it comes from Latin populus, poplar, for a grove near Nero's tomb. Perhaps from the chapel the Roman people paid for in the Middle Ages, the future church: the Madonna was the people's, and the square became the People's.
Every pope had a hand in it. In 1589 Sixtus V had the obelisk raised, brought to Rome by Augustus and previously set up in the Circus Maximus. Alexander VII wanted the twin churches, begun by Rainaldi and finished by Bernini.
The elliptical shape of today, though, dates from Napoleon's time: it was designed by Giuseppe Valadier, with the two exedras decorated with fountains and statues and the tree-lined ramps climbing to the Pincio. It was he, in 1823, who placed the four lions around the obelisk.
The Porta del Popolo has an outer facade of 1562-65 and an inner one arranged by Bernini in 1655. The church of Santa Maria del Popolo was rebuilt in the 1400s and made Baroque by Bernini, who also signed the fine organ held up by two little bronze angels.
Don't miss
• Santa Maria del Popolo and its Caravaggios.
• The four lions of the obelisk.
• The terrace of the Pincio.
• The twin churches.
Did you know?
• The church of Santa Maria del Popolo rose over the tomb of the Domitii, where Nero was buried.
• It was once called "Piazza del Trullo," after a round monument nearby.