The title seems like an unlikely equation and if you haven't figured out what I'm getting at, there'll be enough hints scattered about so you'll soon catch on. Spanish-like plazas, called piazzas, and Egyptian obelisks are about as likely a combination pair as pasta and sauce or Termini station and trains. Added to the likely mix covered in separate journal entries are fountains/statues and Cathedrals/churches, but these are all aspects which cater to the leisurely enjoyment of both locals and tourists in cities and towns across the European continent.
The concept of piazza likely originated from the ancient Roman Forums or Greek Agoras as a central meeting place for the people...and adapted in Spain to "plazas". As they became more modified and wide-open, seasoned travelers will know you can't go far in any European city without coming across yet another...and Rome is certainly no different.
Not counting St. Peter's square, Rome's largest area would be the Piazza del Popolo in the northern part of the city off the Flaminio metro stop. It has the twin churches of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria Montesanto. On the northern rim is the grand Santa Maria del Popolo which is supposedly the haunts of Nero's ghost. I made a quick exit from the latter realizing I'd crashed a funeral!
However, it was the smaller, more intimate piazza areas that I found the most enjoyable because they were serving their original purposes as a central meeting place for the people. Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere was peaceful by day coming to life of an evening in one of the few places you could actually pinpoint IT WAS the locals hanging out. Where I likely spent the most time was Piazza della Rotunda in front of the Pantheon. Small and jam-packed with sidewalk cafes and tourists, this was a varied enough area for people and Pantheon watching while resting tired feet.
Obelisks, centrally located in most piazzas, often had small fountains around their bases. Egypt was the main power-rival of the Roman Empire and obelisks captured and brought across the Mediterranean were seen as prize victory symbols. Throughout history, they've also been fought over within Rome as many have been pirated away from place to place depending on who was in power - like the one towering above the Castor & Pollux statues in Piazza del Quirinal brought from the Mausoleum of Augustus in 1786. Rome's oldest is at Piazza San Giovanni in Laterno, brought from Egypt in 357 A.D., but dating to 15th century B.C. One of the more popular is located in Santa Maria sopra Minerva not because of the 6th century B.C. obelisk, but the back of Bernini's elephant sculpture that it rests upon.