Piazza Navona

The most famous square in Rome is no doubt the Piazza Navona. This square is attractive because of the famous fountains, which also can be found there.This square, or "Circo Agonale", occupres the spot where once stood the circus of Domitian, which held up to

30 000 spectators. That was at the end of the first century A.D. Here were held the Olympic Games, which the emperor preferred, in contrast with his people, who prefered the bloody gladiatorgames. In the late times it became a ruine and in the Dark Ages. The stands of the stadium were filled with houses. In the 17th century the stadium became a magnificient square. Pope Innocentius X made it a fantastic one with fountains and palaces and a church. Because of it length, much money was needed. Nowadays the square is filled with painters and other artists. But not only they can be found there: even politicians and journalists meet each other in expensive lunchrooms in the open air. Between Christmas and 6 January there is a fair, which ends with "la Befana", the carnaval for the kids.The square has the form of a running-track and the length of 240 m, that’s because in the 17th and 18th century, when it still was made of sand instead of stones. But with all its buildings, it may have been much more longer.