DK Travel : Rome : Around Piazza Navona : A Morning around Piazza Navona

A Morning around Piazza Navona

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Start in the courtyard of the Sapienza, marvelling at the remarkable façade of Sant’Ivo . Head around the church’s right side and out the back exit on to Via della Dogana Vecchia. If you need a morning pick-me-up, turn left and then right into Piazza Sant’Eustachio (if the namesake church is open, pop in for an early 18th-century interior). In the elongated piazza to the left are fine views of Sant’Ivo’s dome and two great cafés to choose from, Camillo and Sant’ Eustachio.
Return to Via della Dogana Vecchia and turn right to visit the Caravaggio works inside San Luigi dei Francesi . Continue up the street to Via delle Coppelle and turn left for more Caravaggio at Sant’Agostino. Continue into Piazza della Cinque Lune and walk a few yards to the left down Corso del Rinascimento to Ai Monasteri (see Ai Monasteri) and browse the quality liqueurs and old-fashioned beauty products, all made by monks.
Around the corner is Palazzo Altemps, now full of Classical statuary. Spend a good hour inside. Then relax from the morning’s sightseeing with a stroll amid the street performers and splashing fountains of Piazza Navona . Enjoy a tartufo ice cream or a full lunch at the wonderful Tre Scalini , before ending the morning window-shopping along the antiques of Via dei Coronari .

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philippe

This is Baroque Rome in all its theatrical glory, a collection of curvaceous architecture and elaborate fountains by the era’s two greatest architects, Bernini and Borromini, and churches filled with paintings by the likes of Caravaggio and Rubens. The street plan was largely overhauled by 16th- to 18th-century popes attempting to improve the traffic flow from St Peter’s – in fact, a 19th-century plan to turn Piazza Navona into a boulevard from Prati across Ponte Umberto I was only killed when wiser heads widened Corso del Rinascimento instead. However, ancient Rome does peek through in the shape of Piazza Navona and the curve of Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne. This is also a neighbourhood of craftsmen, shopkeepers and antiques restorers and dealers who line Via dei Coronari (see Antiques Shops). More recently the narrow alleys around Via della Pace have become a centre of Roman nightlife, with tiny pubs, trendy cafés and nightspots where the clientele spills out into the streets in summer (see Chic Cafés and Bars).

about 2 years ago

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