Piazza Navona
Before Piazza Navona existed as the elegant baroque showpiece you know today, this exact ground held the Stadium of Domitian—an arena built in 80 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the stadium fell into ruin and was quarried for building materials, leaving only a few remains, and the spot is now marked in memorial form rather than by any standing structure. In the late 15th century, the city market was transferred here from the Campidoglio, turning the elongated oval of the old stadium site into a public square. During the pontificate of Innocent X (1644–1655), Piazza Navona became a showcase for baroque design, with major works by Bernini and Borromini—and Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (1651) rises in front of Sant’Agnese in Agone. …
AI-generated from open data and cross-checked, with review where noted. How we write narrations
🎧 Listen in WayWhisper
