PIAZZA DEL POPOLO

Description

Essentials about Piazza del Popolo in brief

Piazza del Popolo (“People’s Square”) is one of the most famous squares in Rome. Even in ancient times, it was the square where visitors entered Rome when traveling to the Eternal City from the north on Via Flaminia or Via Cassia. And even today, Piazza del Popolo impresses all people who enter the square for the first time. It is not only the imposing dimensions of Piazza del Popolo that make an impression, but also the many historic buildings in and around the square, such as the Porta del Popolo, the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, the twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the Obelisco Flaminio and the two fountains.

The name “Piazza del Popolo”

There are various traditions for the explanation of the name. Thus, the name of the square is supposed to remind that it was built with the money of the Roman population. According to another tradition, the name recalls the poplars that used to stand here. According to a third theory, the word “Popolo” has nothing to do with the modern word “people”, but is an older term for a parish.

The location of Piazza del Popolo

From Piazza del Popolo, since the 16th century, three main streets – Via del Corso, Via del Babuino and Via di Ripetta – emanate, like a trident in dead-straight magistrals of Rome, guiding visitors to the inner-city focal points. Via del Corso is the only street that follows an ancient road – namely Via Flaminia. It ends at Piazza Venezia, located in front of the Capitoline Hill. Since 1518, Via di Ripetta has led to the former Ripetta harbor on the Tiber and from there on to the Vatican. In 1525, the last of the three streets was Via Paolina, which today leads to Piazza di Spagna as Via del Babuino.

The architecture of and the buildings on Piazza del Popolo

The shape of Piazza del Popolo

The current design in neoclassical style was created between 1811 and 1822 by the architect Giuseppe Valadier. The original design of a trapezoidal square was discarded and replaced instead by two semicircles reminiscent of the design of St. Peter’s Square.

The Obelisco Flaminio

The Piazza del Popolo is dominated by the Obelisco Flaminio standing in its center, the second oldest and, at over 23 meters high, also the second largest Egyptian obelisk in Rome. The obelisk originally stood in Circus Maximus, but was moved to the Piazza del Popolo by Pope Sixtus V in 1589. The obelisk was built around in 1300 BC and stood at the Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis in Egypt. In 10 BC, the Roman Emperor Augustus had the obelisk transported to Rome to commemorate the conquest of Egypt.

Porta del Popolo and Santa Maria del Popolo

In the north of the square stands the former entrance gate, the Porta del Popolo. It was commissioned in 1562 by Pope Pius IV to impress the pilgrims who reached the city on Via Flaminia. Next to the Porta del Popolo stands the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, built in 1472 on the same site as the 11th century chapel. The church contains many impressive works of art, including the oldest stained glass window in Rome and two famous paintings by Caravaggio. Incidentally, Martin Luther lived in the adjacent Augustinian monastery during his stay in Rome.

Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli

To the south are the famous symmetrical twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli. They were commissioned by Pope Alexander VII in 1658 and both designed by Carlo Rainaldi. One difficulty for the architect Rainaldi was that the two building sites were unequal. The left square was much smaller than the right one. Nevertheless, to create the impression of symmetry, Rainaldi created an oval dome for Santa Maria in Montesanto and a circular dome for Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

Fontana del Nettuno and Fontana della dea di Roma

Valadier, the architect of Piazza del Popolo, also designed two fountains placed in the walls around the piazza. The fountain at the western end of the square is the Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune Fountain) and depicts Neptune accompanied by two tritons. The fountain opposite the Fountain of Neptune, at the foot of the Pincian Hill, is known as the Fontana della dea di Roma (Fountain of the Goddess of Rome). The central figure is the Goddess of Rome, accompanied by allegorical figures meant to represent the rivers Tiber and Aniene. Below the goddess is a statue of a she-wolf suckling Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome.