The area of Piazza Navona in Rome copies the dimensions and the form of the antique Stadium of Domiziano dating from the Roman times; an arena more than 270 metres long and roughly 55 meters large, built around 86 after Christ and able to welcome up to 33000 persons.
After it has been restored by Alessandro Severo and it has found the actual arrangement thanks to the intervention of Pope Innocenzo X, in the square were organised until the 19th century various kinds of spectacles, celebrations and during the month of August, when the square was inundated by closing the flash rings of the fountains, even "naumachie" (naval fights inside an arena).
The name "Piazza Navona" probably founds its origins in the competitions that were taking place in the area; from the Latin word "in agone" in fact, we would have passed during the time to the vulgar "nagone" and definitely to "navona".
Piazza Navona is longitudinally marked by the presence of the three fountains; the lateral "Fountain of Neptune or of the Calderoni" and "Fountain of the Moro" are due to the designs of Giacomo della Porta, while the central "Fountain of the Rivers" was realised by Bernini between 1648 and 1651 after Christ.
In front of this last one we find, on the ruins of the stadium of Domiziano and of an antique basilica which can still be visited from the undergrounds of the building, the church with Greek cross plan of Sant'Agnese in Agone, which, initially projected by G.Rinaldi, was achieved in 1652 by Borromini with the characteristic façade concave, the twin belfries and the cupola.
The Fountain of the Neptune, also known as the Fountain of the Boilermakers, is located at the northern extremity of Piazza Navona.
The work owns the design and the realisation of its tank to the same Giacomo della Porta author of the tank of the Moor Fountain at the opposite extremity of the square.
It reached the unification of Italy without any decorations, and therefore to give to the Fountain of the Neptune a stylish similarity with the other fountains of the area, a competition was issued in 1878 for the realisation of the monumental apparatus; such competition was won by Gregorio Zappalà and Antonio Della Bitta.
The first one realised the decoration complex based on the mythological theme of the "Nereidi with cupids and walruses", the second one realised the group of marbles "Neptune fighting with an octopus" that takes again the theme of the physical fight that already the Fountain of the Moro had with the fight between the Ethiopian and the dolphin.
All the structure of the Fountain of the Rivers by Bernini supports the Egyptian Obelisk originally placed in the circus of Massenzio;
on the flanges of the reef are dressed the personifications of the four rivers realised by the collaborators of the maestro: the Danube of Raggi, the Ganges of Poussin, the Rio della Plata of Baratta and the Nile by Fancelli. In addition to these anthropomorphic figures, symbol of the four continents at that time known, the circular tank is populated by lions and other fantastic animals, while at the top of the fountain of the four rivers, was placed a bronze hen pigeon, symbol at the same time of the peaceful work of the Church in the world, and of the family of the Pontiff who wanted the monument: the Pamphili.
The tradition wants that the placement of the statues of the Nile and the Rio della Plata in the fountain, such as those of the statue of Sant'Agnese in the base of the right belfry of the front homonym church, are due to the rivalry between the two main architects of the time: Borromini and Bernini.
The Rio della Plata would have the hand raised to protect itself from the collapse of the façade of the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone while the Nile would have the head veiled, not to allude the fact that the places of the sources were still unknown, but for the refusal to see the work of Borromini; in the same way the inhabitants of Rome are seeing, on the gesture of Sant'Agnese, who is touching his breast with the hand, the insurance that Borromini himself wanted to give concerning the fact that his church would not have collapsed.
The Moor Fountain, located in the southern area of Piazza Navona, takes its name from the group of sculptures of the tank representing an Ethiopian fighting with a dolphin.
The work, sculptured on a design of Bernini in 1654 after Christ by Giovanni Antonio Mari and which, in reality, should represent a triton, was expressly required by the sister-in-law of Innocent X, Olimpia Maidalchini, in order to give an ideal achievement to the tank realised by Giacomo della Porta, already placed on the square by the Pontiff Gregorio XIII in 1576.
The main part of the sculpture ensemble, of the tritons and the masks decorating the tank, are copies of originals nowadays places in some fountains of the garden of Villa Borghese.
While for the firsts (the tritons) we have to think about an original work realised at the end of the 16th century by artists such as Meschino, Taddeo Landini, Silla Longhi, Egidio della Rivera, which misappropriation made necessary an integration work given in 1874 to Luigi Amici, for the group of masks it is good to remember how, in reality, Giacomo della Porta initially sculptured them for the Fountain in "Piazza del Popolo" and only in 1823 Valadier moved them in the Fountain of the Moro.
The swimming-pool, which repeats surrounding it the form of the tank, at the end, represents a particular detail of small architectonic importance but sufficiently significant in the anecdotes of the art story: in fact, it seems that the project can be attributed to Bernini, who however would have taken his idea from his most very fierce colleague and rival: Borromini.

The realisation of the The church of Sant'Agnese in Agone in Rome was built on Piazza Navona during the 17th century on the initial project of Carlo Rainaldi, but with a decisive intervention, between 1653 and 1657 after Christ, of Francesco Borromini.
Pope Innocenzo X Pamphili, who has his funerary monument inside this basilica, decides to proceed to a new urban asset of the area and to build the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone almost as a private chapel next to the family residence built next to it.
The close space between the church and the palace Pamphili is still testified by an opening in the drum of the cupola that allowed the Pontiff to attend the celebrations directly from his apartment. The Greek cross map of the church, born on the place of the martyr of the saint of the same name, that the angiography wants to be miraculously recovered by her own hair after she had been exposed nude, hides in the actual undergrounds a medieval oratory and some ruins from the antique Stadium of Domiziano.
During the short period in which it was called to substitute Carlo Rainaldi as the director of the works, Francesco Borromini modified the project of the façade by using some concave volumes to exalt the overhang of the cupola framed between two twin belfries.
The inside of Sant'Agnese in Agone offers seven altars and is precious because of the frescoes of Gaulli, Ciro Ferri and Sebastiano Corbellini in the cupola, the statues of Piero Palo Campi The church of Sant'Agnese in Agone in Rome was built on Piazza Navona during the 17th century on the initial project of Carlo Rainaldi, but with a decisive intervention, between 1653 and 1657 after Christ, of Francesco Borromini.
Pope Innocenzo X Pamphili, who has his funerary monument inside this basilica, decides to proceed to a new urban asset of the area and to build the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone almost as a private chapel next to the family residence built next to it.
The close space between the church and the palace Pamphili is still testified by an opening in the drum of the cupola that allowed the Pontiff to attend the celebrations directly from his apartment. The Greek cross map of the church, born on the place of the martyr of the saint of the same name, that the angiography wants to be miraculously recovered by her own hair after she had been exposed nude, hides in the actual undergrounds a medieval oratory and some ruins from the antique Stadium of Domiziano.
During the short period in which it was called to substitute Carlo Rainaldi as the director of the works, Francesco Borromini modified the project of the façade by using some concave volumes to exalt the overhang of the cupola framed between two twin belfries.
The inside of Sant'Agnese in Agone offers seven altars and is precious because of the frescoes of Gaulli, Ciro Ferri and Sebastiano Corbellini in the cupola, the statues of Piero Palo Campi and Melchiorre Caffà, the marble relief representing the miracle of the chapels of the Saint located on the altar in the undergrounds said to be from Alessandro Algardi and various paintings of Francesco Rossi, Domenico Guidi, Antonio Raggi and Ercole Ferrata.
The basilica, decorated by precious marbles and by an extended use of gold stucco, also benefited from the use of materials taken away from other religious edifices such as in the case of the columns in the chapels of the cruise coming from San Giovanni in Laterano or the bells taken away from the Cathedral of Castro in the Viterbo region.

It was built for the Pamphili family by G.Rainaldi, who incorporated in the palace the houses of the family and a church of S.Agnese. The works continued from 1644 till 1650.
Interior of the palace is rich with paintings and stuccoes; but an important collection of the antique statues was lost. Of exceptional interest is a long Galleria di Pietro da Cortona built by Borromini and decorated by P.da Cortona with the "Story of Aeneas" on the vault. Sala Palestrina is a magnificent example of Borromini's architecture, using the minimum of surface decoration. The busts are by A.Algardi.
Starting from 1857 until 1877 the noble floor was occupied by Accademia Filarmonica Romana, which was followed by Societa' Musicale Romana.
All the halls on the first floor of the palace are decorated with frescoes of typical 17th century taste. Among them are the series of landscapes by G.Dughet and marine views by Tassi.
Palazzo Pamphili was a residence of donna Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphili, sister-in-law of Innocent X, who despotically dominated Rome.
In 1961 it became the property of Brasilia and houses its Embassy in Rome, which settled here already in 1920 together with "Casa do Brasil".

The realisation of the church of St. Louis of the French in Rome started in 1518 AC, on the desire of the Cardinal Giulio de'Medici who, only a few years later, would have reached the grade of Pontiff under the name of Clement VII.
After the stop of the works in 1524 AC, the yard of the basilica lived its period of maximum activity under the direction of Domenico Fontana during the decade going from 1580 to 1589 and which was concluded by the consecration of the edifice.
The façade of St. Louis of the French, which can probably be attributed to a project of Giacomo della Porta, is developed on two overlapping orders, culminating with a triangular tympanum, decorated horizontally with relief cornices and vertically with pilaster strips with Corinthian capitals.
The result is the individualization in the front prospect of five distinct sectors for each one of the two levels, the inferior ones being occupied at the centre by three entrance doors and laterally by statues placed in niches, the superior ones occupied by windows and a central balcony spaced out by other two sculptures realised, as well as the first ones, in 1758 by Pierre Lestache.
The internal part of the church has three naves with five chapels on each side finely decorated with the use of marbles and stucco; however, it is more the internal furnishing rather than the architectonic complex that surprise, because of the number but also because of the quality of the hosted works.
In the fifth chapel on the left of the basilica, for example, are located the "St. Matthew and the angel", the "Vocation of St. Matthew" and the "Martyr of St. Matthew" painted by Caravaggio between 1597 and 1602; to these one can add a large list of works of great fame:
In the vault:
- "Death and glory of San Luigi" frescoes of Charles-Joseph Natoire dating from 1756 AC.
Right nave
- next to the first pilaster: monument to the French soldiers fallen in Rome in 1849 built by Pio IX
- 2nd chapel: "Story of the life of St. Cecilia" of Domenichino 1616 AC.
- 2nd chapel, on the altar copy of "St. Cecilia of Raffaello" nowadays in Bologna realised by Guido Reni
- 4th chapel painted vault by Pellegrino Tibaldi
- 4th chapel, altar, "Oath of Clodoveo" by Jacopino del Conte
- 4th chapel, altar, "Army of Clodoveo" by Pellegrino Tibaldi
- 4th chapel, altar, "Baptism of Clodoveo" by Sermoneta
- 4th chapel, monument of Pietro Guérin di Paolo Lemoyne
Main altar
"Assumption" Francesco Bassano
Left nave
- next to the first pilaster: monument of the painter Claudio Gellée de Lorrain – Claudio Lorenese di Paolo Lemoyne
- 1st chapel, altar "St. Sebastian" by Girolamo Massei
- 1st chapel, right, monument of the Cardinal de Bernis di Francesco Massimiliano Laboureur
- 1st chapel, left, monument to Madame de Montmorin from 1805
- 3rd chapel, altar, "St. Louis IX" by Plautilla Bricci from 1664
- 3rd chapel, left "Scene of the life of St. Louis" by Giacinto Gimignani
- 5th chapel, vault of Cavalier d'Arpino
- 5th chapel, altar "St. Matthew and the angel" on the left "Vocation of St. Matthew" on the right "Martyr of St. Matthew" del Caravaggio painted between 1597 and 1602.

The Chiesa Nuova (New Church) is one part of a large complex which was built in several stages beginning in 1575, to accommodate the work of St.Philip Neri and of the Congregation of the Oratory. The complex, today is comprised of the church, the Secular Oratory by Borromini, the Vallicella Library and the Convent of the Congregation.
With the formation of the Congregation, Pope Gregory XIII gave to St.Philip the ancient church of the Vallicella, as the home of the Oratory. St.Philip decided to rebuild the church from its foundations.on September 1575, entrusting the project of building the Chiesa Nuova to Matteo da Città di Castello, eventually succeeded by Marino Lunghi il Vecchio.
The new church reflected throughout the style and personality of the Saint, who, with his characteristic simplicity and his devotion to Mary.
The ancient image of S. Maria in Vallicella, that has with the time become the emblem of the Congregation of the Oratory, was transferred to the interior of the Chiesa Nuova. Today, this icon is located in a special niche, above the main altar. The completion of the other buildings, in the complex and the final decoration of the interior of the church were carried out over the following centuries.
The church, by this time complete, was filled with the works of the most prestigious artists of the l6th century:Caravaggio, Rubens, Federico Barocci and Pietro da Cortona. In the 18th century the interior of the nave was enriched, with the ornament and gold stucco that we see today.

Piazza Santa Maria della Pace is one of the most perfect examples of baroque theatricality. It was built on the site of a medieval church dedicated to Sant' Andrea, because Pope Sixtus IV, praying for peace in the conflicts that were devastating Florence at the time, had vowed to construct a church to Our Lady of Peace.
Baccio Pontelli was the architect, but the piazza and the church's façade were completely remade under Pope Alexander VII who commissioned Pietro da Cortona. Along with Bernini and Borromini, da Cortona was one of the greatest exponents of Roman Baroque.
The architect designed a façade with two orders and a semicircular portico that links up with the sides, like two theatrical wings. In addition to works by Rosso Fiorentino and Orazio Gentileschi, the interior is famous for Raphael's frescoes showing the sibyls and prophets, for which Michelangelo accused him of plagiarism.
At the right-hand side of the church, you'll find the entrance to the famous cloister by Bramante, where forms and volumes have been utilized in perfect Renaissance harmony.
The cloister has recently been lovingly restored and is used today for temporary exhibitions. The network of streets past the church, with their medieval flavor, takes you to Via dei Coronari.

The history of this church starts in 1286, when the Roman nobleman Egidio Lufredi donated some houses in the area to the Augustinians. They were asked to erect a church and a convent on the site, and after gaining the consent of Pope Honorius IV (1285-1287), this was done the convent was built. However, the church had to wait because of the proximity to the church of St Tryphon in the Via della Scrofa. This church was entrusted to the Augustinians by the Pope. The small church of St Tryphon had several relics, and was a titular church. The title was passed on the Sant'Agostino when that church had been built, but the older church was kept as an annex until it was demolished in 1736.
Orders to build the new church came in 1296, from Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303). Bishop Gerard of Sabina placed the foundation stone. Construction was to last nearly one and a half century. It was not completed until 1446, when it finally became possible to celebrate liturgical functions in it.
The church was rebuilt on a larger scale in the same century, during the pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471-1484). Funding was arranged by William (Guillaume) Cardinal d'Estouteville, who was the papal Camerlengo (chamberlain) and protector of the Augustinian Order. The design was entrusted to the architects Giacomo di Pietrasanta and Sebastiano Fiorentino. Construction began in 1479, and was finished in 1483 - the year that Cardinal d'Estouteville died. The present orientation was arranged by the Cardinal, who was also the head of the Street Authority, Rome's 'planning commission'. The new church faced the ancient Via Recta (traces of this can be seen in Via delle Coppelle, Via S Agostino and Via dei Coronari), which was one of the main access routes to the Vatican Basilica. The church was also near the now demolished Palazzo Apollinare, where the Cardinal lived.
In the 16th century, a lot of work was done in the interior. One of the artists commissioned for the decoration of the church was the young, but already famous, Michelangelo. In the early 16th century, he started painting The Burial of Christ for the church. He never finished it, and the imcomplete work has made its way to England, where it can be seen in the National Gallery in London.
Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) established it as a cardinalitial title in April 1587. No titular priest was appointed until 1590, when Gregorio Cardinal Petrocchini de Montelbro O.E.S.A. became the first titular priest. The present titular priest is Marcelo Cardinal González Martín, appointed in 1973.
In 1660, there was an Apostolic Visitation in the church, and more work was carried out after that - presumably, it became easier to get funding after that important occasion. The plan as it is today is a result of the work done in that period; it was drawn by Borromini in 1661-1662.
The convent was restored in the 18th century; the work was completed in 1756. By then, the dome and the cross-vault of the church were in a bad state, and it was decided to start restoration work there. Vanvitelli was commissioned to lead the work. As he was also working on the Royal Palace at Caserta, most of the actual work fell to Carlo Murena. The church was closed while restorations were carried out, and was reopened in 1763. A new and more spacious sacristy was built at the same time, and the bell tower was altered.
Another restoration was carried out under Pope Pius IX (1846-1878); it was completed in 1870. The floor was renewed, pillars were encased in marble and frescoes were added in the nave, transept, choir and in the chapels.
The most resent work was carried out in 1998-2000 by the Soprintendenze di Roma per i Beni Ambientali ed Architettonici e per i Beni Artistici e Storici, the authority responsible for among other things the architectural and artistic patrimony of Rome.
The Renaissance façade, one of the first in this style, is built in travertine said to be from the ruins of the Colosseum. It was designed by Giacomo di Pietrasanta. The balustrade on the stairs was added in the 18th or 19th century. The façade has two level, divided by a trapezoidal strip. On the architrave at the top of the lower level is an inscription dating the façade: GUILLERMUS DE ESTOUTEVILLA EPISCO.OSTIEN.CARD.ROTHOMAGEN.S.R.E. CAMERARIUS FECIT MCCCCLXXXIII, meaning «William d'Estouteville, Bishop of Ostia, Cardinal of Rouen, Camerlengo, built this in 1483». There are three doors, a large one in the middle which is crowned by a tympanon with the arms of Cardinal d'Estouteville held aloft by angels (marble, 15th century), and a smaller one on each side. The façade is divided into three sections by pilasters, with one door in each section. Above each of the ones on the sides, there is a small oculus, a circular window. The side doors have simple marble cornices. Between the doors and the oculi, there are rectangular frames on the otherwise smooth façade. This is reminiscent of Medieval decoration, where the frames would be filled with paintings, mosaic or reliefs. It is likely that the frames here should have been filled, probably with reliefs, but that this was never accomplished due to a lack of funds after the death of the cardinal in 1483. Above the central door is a painting, The Handing Over of the Augustinian Rule. It was added a later date, and has been damaged by the ravages of time. On the upper level, there is a central oculus, much larger than the ones on the lower level. As is common on a church of this date, the upper storey covers only the middle section. To the sides are volutes, which hide the supporting buttresses.
Adjacent to the church, on the right side, is a former Augustinian monastery, once the residence of the order's general. It has been converted into government offices. The Angelica Library, founded in 1605, is still located here. It is named after the founder, the Augustinian Angelo Rocca, who became titular Bishop of Tagaste, Numidia, the same year.
On the left-hand side, a 14th century apse can be seen. The cornice with three fascias of increasing projection is typical of the period. The side entrance was created in the 17th century by rebuilding a side chapel. The door is from the 18th century, as is the circular window above it; they were installed by Vanvitelli. It's also possible to see the bricked-up Renaissance windows, which used to open onto the side chapels. The arms of Cardinal d'Estouteville can be seen on one of the buttresses. Between those are the newer windown, opening onto the left aisle. On the upper level, are traces of windows to opened onto the central aisle.
The bell tower was given its current form in the middle of the 18th century. It was mad lower, a new bell chamber was built and the small drum and dome were added.
The church is built on a Latin cross plan. It's 61.4 metres long, 23 metres wide in the nave and 42.5 metres wide in the transept. There are three aisles, separated by two rows of six arches. The central aisle is twice as wide as each of the side aisles. There were originally six chapels in each side aisle, but one on the left was removed to allow a side entrance, and one on the right to accomodate a new sacristy. The design is inspired by Brunelleschi's Church of the Holy Spirit in Flornence, which is also owned by the Augustinians.
St Augustine often mentions the allegorical meaning of numbers in his writings, and this is reflected in the church. For instance, the universality of the Church is represented by the number twelve - twelve Apostles, twelve tribes of Israel - and this is reflected in the twelve arches and the twelve side chapels in the original design.
The interior is dominated by the dome. It was part of the 15th century church, but was changed in the 18th century restoration. At that time, it was found that in order to build a more lasting dome, it was necessary to reconstruct the support arches and strengthen the pillars. The new dome was built without a drum (that is, the dome rests directly on the arches, rather than having a drum between the arches and the dome.
A statue by Jacopo Sansovino found in a niche by the entrance is venerated as the Madonna del Parto, the Madonna of Childbirth. It was made in 1516.
The high altar by Bernini is from 1627, and is decorated with a Byzantine icon of the Blessed Virgin, the Madonna of St Luke. The icon was moved here from the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in 1453.
The angels decorating the church are by Bernini. Andrea Sansovino made the statue of St Anne and the Blessed Virgin in the second chapel on the left. There are also other works of art by artists such as Raphael, Caravaggio and Guercino; the latter has painted St Augustine and St John the Evangelist in the right transept.
Caravaggio's work, a painting from 1609 of the Madonna dei Pellegrini, the Madonna receiving pilgrims, can be seen in the first chapel on the left. It caused an uproar because of the lowly and domestic setting and the dirty and tattered pilgrims, elements that we now view as adding to the realism of the painting. Isaiah by Raphael is found on the third pilaster on the left-hand side of the nave; it was painted in 1512.
The Chapel of St Augustine was decorated by Giovanni Lanfranco, and also a painting of the saint by Guercino.
To the left of the sanctuary, in the Blessed Sacrament chapel, is the tomb of St Monica, St Augustine's mother. Her tomb in the chapel was designed by Isaia da Pisa c. 1450, when St Monica's relics had been found in the ruins of the cathedral of Ostia. The chapel has an altar dedicated to St Peter the Apostle, by Cotignola.

This was once the Roman residence of the Medici family of Florence. Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the future Pope Leo X, rented this building from Sinulfo, Bishop and Treasurer of Sixtus IV. Because the Roman University was nearby and the Cardinal had a profound interest in the Humanities, he opened his library to scholars.
This, together with the extraordinary collection of ancient statues in the garden, made his home a meeting place for a variety of cultural interests of the time. As Pope Leo X, he commissioned Giuliano and Andrea da Sangallo to reface the building in 1523 as it was to house the different members of the Medici family.
Another Medici Pope, Clement VII gave the use of the building to the young widow of Duke Alessandro de' Medici, Margaret of Austria, known in English as the Duchess of Parma. She was the natural daughter of the Emperor Charles V and gave her name to the Villa Margherita situated on Monte Mario.
The numerous decorations to the façade were added in the first half of the 17th century. In 1755, the building became the headquarters of the Papal State and a prison. During the Pontificate of Pius IX, it housed the Ministry of Finance and was also the headquarters of the Pontifical Post Office. After 1870, it became the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy, and King Emanuel II was present at the first sitting on November 28th 1871.
After 1929, an underground passage linked the building with Palazzo Giustiniani.

The Palazzo della Sapienza, the House of Knowledge, was constructed to be the headquarters of the University of Rome, the Studium Urbis, founded by Boniface VIII in 1303. Giacomo della Porta completed the building in the early 17th century, making use of a previous project by Pirro Logorio.
In 1642, Borromini ingeniously finished it off when he incorporated the extraordinary Tempietto di Sant'Ivo, one of the most significant works of Roman baroque. He put the concave façade of his church inside the courtyard and added the convex drum of the dome, which almost dances with its segments and six lobes inside which the convex and the concave shapes alternate yet again.
On top of the dome, the lantern twists into a helicoidal spire which ends with a tall pinnacle surmounted by a cross. The geometrical forms Borromini chose, hexagonal like the cells in a beehive, refer to the bees on the Barberini coat of arms and the spiral, the bee stinger. Borromini was forced to take personal responsibility for the building for 15 years in case the spiral collapsed or caused damage.
These buildings remained the seat of the University of Rome until the construction of the new Citta' Universitaria in 1935. Today the Italian state archives are housed here and they hold the documentation relating to the papal state from the 9th to the 19th century.