When in Rome in March, I took a 3.2 km (2 miles) walk to visit five piazzas (public squares) and fountains in the Eternal City. Rome’s piazzas are the centre of daily life. Come along and let me know what you think of the sights we see.
1. Piazza Navona
The Baroque-style Piazza Navona is built on the site where the Stadium of Domitian (Circus Agonalis), founded in 86 A.D., once stood. The most imposing buildings which look onto the square are the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone and the Palazzo Pamphilj.
The most beautiful parts of Piazza Navona are its three fountains: Fountain of Neptune on the north end, Fountain of the Moor on the south end and Fountain of the Four Rivers with an obelisk in the centre of the square.
The Fountain of the Four Rivers was designed by Bernini in 1651. The four statues represent the most important rivers of the continents where Christianity had spread: the Nile with a lion (Africa), Danube with a horse (Europe), the Ganges with a dragon (Asia) and Rio de la Plata with an armadillo (America).
2. Piazza della Rotunda and the Pantheon
The Pantheon of Agrippa, also known as the Roman Pantheon, completed in 126 A.D., is the best preserved building from ancient Rome. I recommend entering the Pantheon to appreciate the awe-inspiring architecture:
- The rectangular facade is comprised of 16 granite columns which are each 14 meters in height.
- The circular building at the back has exactly the same diameter as its height: 43.5 metres.
- At its top, the enormous dome 9-meter diameter opening allows natural light to illuminate the entire building.
3. Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)
Trevi Fountain, completed in 1762, is the largest fountain in Rome. The name of Trevi derives from Tre Vie (three ways), since the fountain was the meeting point of three streets. The fountain shows statues of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of the god Oceanus, illustrating the theme of the taming of the waters. There are always people throwing coins in the water of Trevi Fountain. To find out why and what happens to the coins, click here.
4. Piazza de Spagna and the Spanish Steps
Piazza de Spagna (Square of Spain) is where the majestic Spanish Steps, the longest and widest decorative steps in Europe, are located. At the bottom of the Spanish Steps is the Fountain of the Ugly Boat!
The Fountain of the Ugly Boat (Fontana della Barcaccia) was designed by Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who later helped with the creation. It was finished in 1627 and placed by Pope Urban III in the centre of Piazza di Spagna. It is shaped as a boat and has the emblems of the Barberini family (the Noble family of Pope Urban III), bees and a sun engraved.
5. Piazza della Republica
At the centre of the Piazza della Republica stands the majestic Fountain of the Nymphs (Fontana delle Naiadi) depicting four nymphs riding on sea monsters. It was constructed between 1870 and 1888 and decorated with four lion sculptures. In 1901 the lions were replaced by the statues of four water nymphs.
I hope you enjoy the walk. Thank you for coming along.
Link-Up
I’d love for you to share your week’s highlights and/ or public art from around the world in the Comments or Weekend Coffee Share link-up #159 below.
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Natalie the Explorer 
The sculptures and architecture are unparalled with anything I see in America. How wonderful for you to be able to feast your eyes on these creations of beauty! I’ve never been to Rome; maybe one day…
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Lisa, I’m pleased you liked the sculptures and architecture that I shared. Rome is an amazing city. I am grateful to have visited Rome more than once.
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Amazing art!
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Thank you PtP for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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You are welcome, Natalie.
Wishing you a lovely weekend!
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An interesting walk seeing the sites round the squares. I think the one that interests me the most would be the ugly boat, it’s something different than I’ve ever seen in fountains.
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Karen, I chuckled when I learned the name of the Ugly Boat fountain. Its design is unique and it has an interesting history. I’m pleased you found it interesting too.
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I hope people continue to carry real money and throw their coins in the fountain.
I love the look of those Spanish steps, I wonder if people run up and down them?
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When I was at the Trevi Fountain, the place was packed with people. Many threw their coins into the fountain to make a wish.
I am not sure about people run up and down the Spanish Steps as that area is usually busy with crowds, but walk up and down the steps yes for sure.
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Thanks for the enjoyable walk around Rome, I especially enjoyed the fountains 🙂
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Sarah, Thank you for taking this virtual walk with me. I love those big fountains and planned this walk to see them up close.
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What a beautiful place to visit. All the detail is amazing. Oh to be a nymph riding on a sea monster…
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Those nymphs are having fun 🙂 Thanks Ally for stopping by.
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Just gorgeous! When I visit places that has this many details I have a hard time noticing everything at once, but when I look at the pictures afterwards I see details that I missed. Thank you so much for sharing.
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You’re welcome, Maria. Pictures are useful for reviews like you mentioned. I spent a bit of time at Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and Piazza della Republica to examine the amazing architecture and artistic details in each of the fountains. The other two piazzas were crowded so I spent less time there.
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That sounds wonderful.
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I was going to comment that Fountain of the Four Rivers is an interesting piece of art to look at, but all the fountain images you shared are.
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Thank you Shari for your comment. I chose this walking route to revisit these beautiful and interesting fountains that I had seen and liked from my previous visit.
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I love all these beautiful fountains!
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Joanne, I’m pleased you love these fountains like I do.
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Thank you for taking us around Rome. Beautiful photos.
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Thank you for taking this virtual walk with me. I’m pleased you liked my photos.
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One of my favourite cities, Natalie. Thanks for sharing your photos and taking me back there. x
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Thank you Sue for linking up with me.
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We stayed in Piazza Navonna when the kids were little. I love Pantheon tho – but I love the Patheon in France better (but shh, Italian husband doesn’t like to hear that!)
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I love the Pantheon in Paris. I’m super impressed by how old and well-preserved the Pantheon in Rome is (since 126 A.D.) though.
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A real walk through history. Thanks.
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You’re welcome, Margaret. It’s awe-inspiring to see these amazing places in Rome and fun to learn about their history.
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Beautiful walk, Natalie. I remember the Trevi Fountain because we threw in a coin. I need to drag out my old old pictures and compare them. Nothing compares to how old most of these buildings and fountains are. It’s amazing what they did so many years ago. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Marsha, I’m pleased you like this walk. The myth says if you throw one coin, you will return to Rome. I think Rome is incomparable and awe-inspiring. They still discover more ancient places and ruins in Rome.
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It is such an amazing place. We didn’t see nearly enough while we were there. It took most of the day going through the Vatican. Afterwards we were all exhausted after looking at art on every surface – floor, ceilings, walls and statues in the halls. How long were you there?
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Sounds like you suffered from museum/ art fatigue. I was in Rome for three and a half days. I spent one morning in the Vatican as it was my second visit.
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I didn’t know there was such a thing. I had to go look out the window to rest my eyes. 🙂 Did you get fatigued in the Vatican, or were you prepared. You saw a lot in only three and a half days.
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“Museum fatigue” was first described in 1916 🙂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_fatigue
It was my second visit to the Vatican so I knew what to expect and I booked a skip-the-line guided tour that focused on the highlights. I didn’t get fatigued in the Vatican. I was prepared and saw what I wanted to see in Rome. I skipped a few sites that I saw in my first visit and explored a couple of new-to-me but not touristy places.
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You really are the explorer. You have this traveling thing down pat! 🙂
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I try to prepare for each trip by reading up and looking at maps; Google helps 🙂
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Excellent! What would we do without Google. I read Irving Stone’s book The Agony and The Ecstasy before I went. It was the perfect introduction.
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All amazing works of art. I haven’t seen the last one though.
Here is mine: https://wanderingteresa.com/geelong-by-the-waterfront/
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Teresa, Piazza della Republica is a gem and was not at all crowded like Trevi Fountain or The Spanish Steps. There is a Basilica of St Mary of the Angels nearby built in one of the Roman Bath chambers with stunning interiors and an interesting Meridian. The Basilica was originally designed by Michelangelo. Thank you for your link. I’ll be over to your blog shortly.
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This was a beautiful historic walk you had. I’m not sure that I will ever get to Italy, so thankyou for taking me along on your tour. Thanks for the link to what happens to the coins thrown into the fountain. I had often wondered about that.
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Thank you Jennifer for taking this virtual walk with me. I’m pleased you enjoyed it. It’s great that the coins are collected and used to help people in need.
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Gorgeous photos. I love the fountains, and hopefully one day I can visit and see these for myself
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Thank you Natasha for your comment. These fountains are wonderful works of art and have interesting history.
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Beautiful write up with pictures Natalie.
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Thank you Ganga for your compliment. I’m pleased you liked my post and pictures.
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Beautiful photos of some amazing architecture, Natalie.
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Thank you Dan. Rome provides many photo opportunities.
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Those sites are amazing, Natalie! How is Rome’s weather in March?
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Thank you Pam for your comment. Rome’s weather in March was a mix of sun and rain, daytime high 17C or 62F. The rain was just one morning, the rest of my stay there was dry.
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Seeing your pictures of Rome I am reminded I should return for a weekend to see the sights.
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Yes, a weekend getaway to Rome would be nice.
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So much to see! Thanks for sharing it. Love the architecture and the history. Bernie
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You’re welcome, Bernie. Thank you for joining my virtual walk.
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Wow, those are all so very impressive. Love them all. Your virtual walk is amazing. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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Thank you Patrick for your comment and for linking up. I’m pleased you enjoyed my virtual walk. Have a great week ahead!
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What lovely photographs! Interesting topic. Thanks!
https://rosemarycarlson.com/2024/04/07/weekendcoffeeshare-159-april-6-2024/
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Thank you Rosemary for your comment and link. I’ll be over to your blog shortly.
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What Beautiful photos Natalie! You remind me of my daughter, the world traveler as you have visited such amazing places. I am so happy you share as we come along virtually on your travels. I wish my daughter would share, maybe someday she will have the time to do so. Rome is very impressive, the history is amazing too. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and week ahead! ❤
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Thank you Diana for your lovely comment. I’m grateful to be able to travel and have time to blog about some of the places that I have visited. I’m pleased to see you at the WCS link-up. I’ll be over to your blog shortly.
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Thank you! I’m finding sharing and belonging to this beautiful blogging community is helping my mental health. 💖
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Yes, the WCS blogging community is like virtual friends. I hope you join us as often as time permits.
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What beautiful photos. I visited Rome several years ago. These photos bring back such memories.
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Thank you Lisa for your comment. Good to know you have been to Rome and enjoyed the city, too.
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I’ll add these piazzas to my list!
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That’s great! Piazza della Republica is a gem and was not crowded like Trevi Fountain or The Spanish Steps. There is a Basilica of St Mary of the Angels nearby built in one of the Roman Bath chambers with stunning interiors and an interesting Meridian. The Basilica was originally designed by Michelangelo.
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Rome is always a fun place to walk around. The next time I get to go, I would like to explore Trastevere.
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Yes, lots to see in and around Rome. One can stay in that city for a long time and still not see everything.
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The entire world is indeed fortunate that the treasures you pictured here have survived both time and tragedy for us to enjoy. I cannot fathom something standing since 126 A.D. Thanks for sharing, Natalie. I enjoyed the walk immensely!
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Joe, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the walk. I was in awe to learn that the Pantheon in Rome still has the original granite columns and doors.
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Wow Natalie, so beautiful. I loved the squares when we visited Italy. I liked the fountain of the ugly boat.
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Yes, that Fountain of the Ugly Boat is unique in style and has an interesting history.
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Wonderful coverage. All of them are my favourites for something or the other: Trevi and the Spanish steps for people watching, Rotunda and Repubblica for the sheer tourist value, and Navona for a relaxed coffee and cake. You brought back memories of many visits. Thank you.
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Thank you I.J. for your lovely comment. I’m pleased my post brought back memories. I had a margherita pizza and gelato at Piazza Navona and they were delicious.
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It’s an incredible city, Natalie. Thanks so much for taking me back there.
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You’re welcome, Jo. I remember reading your post when you visited Rome.
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Rome is honestly so beautiful, I’ve been 4 times and still haven’t seen it all!
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Thank you for your comment. Yes, Rome is amazing. It’s one of those cities that one can repeat visits and still discover something new every visit.
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