The 10 Most Beautiful Squares in Rome

The squares of Rome (in Italian, "piazza") have played an important role in the history of the city. With their wonderful monuments, baroque fountains, ruins and ancient churches, they are actually the best way to get to know the life and history of the city.  

As meeting and exchange places, squares are the essence of Rome. Suggestive, romantic, lively and colourful, they go with every day life and host the biggest events in the city. Each square has its own story and hidden treasures, each involving a different emotion.

To put together a list of the 10 most beautiful squares in Rome is not an easy task! There are so many squares in the Eternal city! Our selection is based on what we consider to be the most important and interesting squares for tourists coming to Rome for the first time and wanting to get an overview of the city.

Are you curious to know which are the squares we have selected? Read our article and then send us your own Top 10!

10. PIAZZA SANTA MARIA IN TRASTEVERE

Santa Maria in Trastevere is a great example of a lively town square. Here you come to have a chat or a drink with friends and it’s a perfect place to enjoy summer evenings. There you also find the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere - a beautiful church with medieval mosaics and frescoes - and, in the centre of the square, one of the oldest fountains in Rome. This fountain has been restored several times and it is supplied by Acqua Paola. The legend goes that it quenched Trastevere inhabitants' thirst before the town's water supply.

Do you want to know more about Trastevere neigbourhood? Find more information in this article!

9. PIAZZA DELLA BOCCA DELLA VErità 

Piazza della Bocca della Verità is a beautiful square located right in front of the Tiber island. It takes its name from a famous Roman manhole known as “Bocca della Verità” (“Mouth of Truth”) that today is located inside the portico of the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. In the square opposite the church you can also admire the beautiful Temple of Hercules and the Fountain of Tritons (with the representation of two Tritons holding a shell) commissioned by Pope Clement XI.

8. PIAZZA CAMPO DE' FIORI

Since 1869 Campo de 'Fiori has hosted what many consider to be the most beautiful and characteristic fruit and vegetable market of Rome. Every morning (except on Sundays) the square is filled with colourful stalls selling fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry and fresh fish, gastronomic specialities and much more.

The square is very cosmopolitan and noisy: by night you find lot of tourists and students enjoying a drink in one of the many cocktail bars and pubs of the aerea (especially on week-ends). There are also a lot of restaurants, outdoor cafes, cinemas and theaters.

The square was used for executions and the great bronze statue of the philosopher Giordano Bruno is there to remind that he was accused of heresy and sentenced to death, burnt alive here on February 17, 1600. If you want to find out more about the history of Campo de 'Fiori, please read this article.

7. PIAZZA DI TREVI

In this small square you will find the famous Trevi fountain: tourists from all over the world come here to get a souvenir photo or to toss a coin into the fountain, as tradition wants it. Celebrated in Federico Fellini's Dolce Vita, the fountain is a masterpiece of architecture, sculpture and engineering.

Do you want to find out more about the fountain and its secrets? Are you curious to know the origin of the tradition of tossing a coin into the fountain? Please read this article for more information.

6. PIAZZA DEL POPOLO

This famous square, the beating heart of the city, takes its name from the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, rich with funeral monuments and works of art, such as two famous paintings by Caravaggio: the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter.

The square – designed by Giuseppe Valadier – is elliptically shaped and its most recent restaurations was during the neoclasssical era. In the centre, on a large base with fountains and lions, stands one of the largest obelisks in Rome, the Flaminian obelisk (23.91 meters high, without the base), built by the pharaoh Ramesses II.

Three important streets branch off from Piazza del Popolo, forming the so-called Trident: on the left you find Via del Babuino, leading to Piazza di Spagna; on the right there is Via di Ripetta, leading to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon; at the center there is Via del Corso, which is the favourite destination for shopping lovers. Please find out more about Piazza del Popolo in this article.

5. PIAZZA DELLA ROTONDA

This suggestive square hosts one of the most beautiful and important monuments in Rome: the Pantheon.

You just have to visit it!

In the centre there is the Renaissance fountain designed by Giacomo della Porta in 1575, surmounted by the obelisk of Ramesses II. The square is full of restaurants, pubs and bars where you can have an aperitivo with your friends. Absolutely the perfect place to enjoy your evening.

4. PIAZZA VENEZIA

Piazza Venezia is considered the hub of the city and connects two important streets: Via dei Fori Imperiali to Via del Corso. On the southern side of the square stands the Vittoriano building, designed by Giuseppe Sacconi. It is the National monument dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II, housing the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the so called Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland).

The square takes its name from Palazzo Venezia, a Renaissance building placed on the western side of the "piazza". For a brief period, it was the Apostolic Palace and then, from 1564 to 1797, it was the seat of the delegation of La Serenissima Republic of Venice in the Papal States. In the years of Fascism - from 1929 - it became the official seat of the Head of the Government: Benito Mussolini used to make speeches from its balcony.

If you want to find out more about the history of Piazza Venezia and the Vittoriano, please read this article.

3. PIAZZA DI SPAGNA

On the third place of our Top Ten list you find one of the most famous images of Rome: Piazza di Spagna. This beautiful square is placed at the foot of Trinità dei Monti (The Spanish Steps) stairway, and takes its name from the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See.

In the centre of the square is placed the Barcaccia (“Ugly Boat”) by Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a fountain built in memory to the overflowing of the Tiber River in 1598.

Piazza di Spagna is still one of the most popular destinations for tourists from all over the world and for local people too. If you want to find out more about what to do and what to see in Piazza di Spagna, please read this article.

2. PIAZZA NAVONA

In second place of the podium there is Piazza Navona. With the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) designed by Bernini, the majestic Palazzo Pamphilj and the splendid Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, the square represents the true quintessence of Roman Barroque.

The square is a great meeting place: there you find a lot of street artists and painters, tourists and local people. While visiting Rome's city centre, you can't miss this square! If the popular saying "all roads lead to Rome" is true, then it's also true that all streets in Rome lead to Piazza Navona! In fact, there are many entries to this "Piazza", which has been very important over Rome's history.

If you are in Rome on Christmas time, you must visit it on the night of the "Befana" (according to Italian tradition, she's an old woman who gives gifts to children in the night of Ephiphany): the square is illuminated with thousands of colours, and it is filled up with stalls selling sweets, artisan objects and Nativity figurines. You can't miss it!

1. PIAZZA SAN PIETRO

And finally the first place of our top 10. This  square has reached the highest step on the podium.

No words can describe the incredible feeling of passing through Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square), the most beautiful square in the world! To be more precise, it is placed in the Vatican State ...but actually you have to come to Rome if you want to visit this masterpiece designed by Bernini. It is universal, with its colonnade that simbolically embrace the faithful.

Many faithful people gather in the square on Sunday at noon: they want to attend the Angelus Domini and receive the Pope's benediction, who adresses the square from his study window. Being a Catholic or not, it doesn't matter: visiting St. Peter's Square is an experience that you will never forget.

Find out more about St. Peter's Square.

Did you like our Top 10? Which is your favourite square? We are looking forward to hearing your feedback. Enjoy it!