Before the square: the Stadium of Domitian

The elongated, oval shape of Piazza Navona is not accidental. It derives directly from the Stadium of Domitian, built in 86 AD to host the ludi graeci, athletic contests in the Greek tradition. The stadium was approximately 265 metres long, capable of holding 30,000 spectators — one of the largest in Rome.

After sporting use came to an end, in the fifth and sixth centuries, the structures remained standing and began to be incorporated into new medieval buildings. The spine of the stadium became the spine of the square.

The Middle Ages: market and neighbourhood

In the Middle Ages the name of the area was in agone (from the stadium). Through popular phonetic transformation, in agone became first nagone, then navone, hence Navona. A market was held here at least from the thirteenth century.

The medieval square was very different from the present one: no monumental fountains, surrounded by irregular buildings, often muddy and noisy. It was a functional space, not a celebratory one.

The Renaissance: the neighbourhood of the Pamphilj and other dynasties

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, various noble families acquired properties around the square. The Pamphilj became its most important proprietors, but the Braschi were also present (they would build Palazzo Braschi, today the Museum of Rome, on the south-eastern corner) alongside others.

The square was already a place of prestige, but the great Baroque transformation was yet to come.

The pontificate of Innocent X (1644–1655): the decisive transformation

With the election of Giambattista Pamphilj as Pope Innocent X in 1644, the square became the stage for one of the most ambitious urban operations of Roman Baroque.

In less than ten years, between 1644 and 1655, the pope commissioned or initiated:

  1. The construction of Palazzo Pamphilj (1644–1646, Girolamo Rainaldi), which gave the square its long western front
  2. The construction of the Fountain of the Four Rivers (1648–1651, Gian Lorenzo Bernini), the centrepiece of the entire composition
  3. The rebuilding of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone (begun 1652, then Borromini from 1653), which completed the side with the concave façade

These three operations are interdependent and conceived as a single project asserting the glory of the Pamphilj family.

Bernini and the Fountain of the Four Rivers (1648–1651)

The commission for the Fountain of the Four Rivers is one of the most retold episodes of the Baroque. Innocent X had initially preferred a different design, but Bernini managed to have a silver model delivered to the pope through the mediation of Olimpia Maidalchini, the pontiff's sister-in-law.

The fountain was inaugurated on 12 June 1651. It represents the four great rivers of the known world: the Nile (Africa), the Ganges (Asia), the Danube (Europe), the Río de la Plata (the Americas). At the centre, a third-century Roman obelisk, originally placed in the Circus of Maxentius on the Via Appia.

The lesser fountains

The two fountains at the ends of the square — the Fontana del Moro (south) and the Fontana di Nettuno (north) — already existed before Innocent X's intervention. The first was enlarged by Giacomo della Porta in 1575; the figure of the Moor was added by Bernini in 1653. The Fontana di Nettuno received its central sculptural group only in the nineteenth century (1873), to a design by Antonio della Bitta.

From the seventeenth century to today

After the death of Innocent X in 1655, the square remained largely unchanged in its structure. The market continued to be held here until the nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century some houses leaning against the stadium structures were demolished, making the oval form more visible. The square was pedestrianised in the twentieth century, reaching the configuration it has today.

With a private driver

Arrive at Piazza Navona with a private driver. From your hotel, airport or station — direct and on time. Service from €49. → Book at myromedriver.com

Frequently asked questions

When was Piazza Navona pedestrianised? The square was closed to traffic in the second half of the twentieth century, gradually. The fully pedestrian configuration dates from the 1970s–1980s.

Does the market still exist? Not as a permanent market. The tradition of the Christmas Market in December survives. For the rest of the year, the artists' and vendors' stalls present are a commercial echo of the historic market, not a regular market.

Article n. 152 — TIER S — MON-08 Piazza Navona Type: HISTORICAL Words: ~800

See also