The Piazza del Popolo (People's Square) is a famous square in Rome, in the middle of which stands one of the oldest obelisks in the city.
History of the square
In the past, those who came to Rome from the north would first enter the piazza through the Porta del Popolo. The square owes its name to the church Santa Maria del Popolo, in which still today many works of the famous artist Caravaggio can be seen. In addition, there are two other churches in the piazza that face each other. The two "twin churches" Santa Maria del Montesanto and Santa Maria del Miracoli were built in the 17th century and were intended to be symmetrical, but the master builder had some problems with this, as one building site was considerably larger than the other.
According to the legend, Santa Maria del Popolo stands on the place where Nero's cursed soul dwelled in an old walnut tree. In the 11th century, the tree was cut down and a small chapel was built. When this became too small, Pope Gregory IX had it enlarged. It is assumed that the name comes from the fact that the church was built for the people, Italian popolo. It is also possible that the name derives from a former poplar forest. The interior of the church bears the signature of the artist Bernini. Who redesigned the church in the 17th century. There are also works by Raphael in the famous church.
In the middle of the square is the obelisk Flaminio. It is believed that the 24-meter high obelisk is more than 3300 years old. It was brought to Rome on the orders of the Emperor August, but initially found its place in the Circus Maximus.
