Piazza Navona is a pedestrian-only zone, a quiet spot in the middle of Rome. Several bus routes run along the next street over, making Piazza Navona easy to get to. The large, long, and narrow square has three fountains in it, the star of the show is Bernini’s Fountains of the Four Rivers, which was surrounded by scaffolds for repair when we were there in May, 2007. The large church dominating the center of the square, St Agnese in Agone, has an excellent Baroque interior. At the curved end of the square, we entered Via d. Lorenesi where several churches are packed together in a short block. We returned to Piazza Navona, left the square by the narrow street more or less opposite St. Agnese, along the vast Madma Palace (via Salvatore) built by the Medici in the 1500s, to San Luigi, another excellent Baroque church. Turning right leaving the church, the second left took us to the Pantheon.

The Pantheon maybe the most important building in Rome, 2000 years old, it is the only work of the ancient Roman Empire whose interior has survived almost intact.

From the Pantheon, we walked along V. Seminario to S. Ignazio Church and Piazza Ignazio, best seen from the porch of the church. The church is attractive, and the ceiling painting is one of the best Trompe d’oeil works we've ever seen. For the full effect, stand on the yellow marble disk under the center of the painting and look up to see the ceiling disappear into a soaring view into the sky. This is a don’t-miss sight.

We left S. Ignazio by continuing along V. Seminario to V. del Corso, Rome’s main shopping street, taking a left on V. Corso, then the second right to the remarkable Trevi Fountain (see review of, this journal).

From Trevi Fountain, we returned to V. del Corso where we caught a bus back to our hotel.

This half day walk was, after our 6½ hour visit to the Forum and Palatine Hill, the best sightseeing excursion we made in Rome. I recommend it ahead of the Vatican, if you are pressed for time.

Piazza Navona is located in the historic center of Rome, near the Pantheon. It is a great place to view some art and architecture, have a drink or a bite to eat, check out the shops, and generally people-watch.

The piazza follows the plan of an ancient Roman circus, essentially a race track. In this case, like the first-century Stadium of Domitian, where the Romans came to watch the agones ("games"). The name, Navona, stems from the corruption of the word agones into agone, then nagone and then, navona, which actually means "big ship" in Italian.

We went about noon hour, so stopped at a bar or enoteca with tables outside directly in front of Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. The fountain, unfortunately, is undergoing restoration, so had scaffolding and boards all around it and you could only see parts and not the whole. It is intended to represent the four great rivers of the world.

Where we sat was an excellent spot to view the Borromini designed church, Sant'Agnese in Agone as well as the della Porta fountains, Fontana del Nettuno, and Fontana del Moro.

The little food spot is called Tucci where we had caprese salad and pasta. Food was not great but okay for a big tourist site area and the bottle of Chianti washed it all down nicely.

As we ate lunch, the piazza grew steadily busier and guys selling illegal knockoffs of sunglasses, purses, and watches started setting up their tables or blankets. People began hanging around near our table waiting for us to leave.

We finally left our table to wander around the piazza, look at the sculptures close up and window shop in the various shops.

It was a fun place to spend time and soak up some atmosphere.

This is an incredibly historic square, and certainly, in terms of art history, a must-see. Beautiful it undoubtedly is - the fountains and the church are beautiful. But there are times when you wish that the crowds wouldn't be there because, when you have tourists, you have street sellers of all kinds. The worst ones being of course the singers when you are trying to take in the majesty of the art and architecture, which can be difficult when you have a 10-year-old boy shouting out "O sole mio" at the top of his voice.

However, to address the sculpture and architecture, the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini is truly magnificent. It is easy to see how Bernini managed to get back in favour with Pope Innocent X. On the northern side of the fountain are the figures of the Nile, with its head covered, and the Plate, with the bald head and looking primitive. On the southern side is the noble and classical-looking Danube with the horse and the Ganges on the opposite side from the church and a lion bending down to drink from the water. The creature taking the overflow from the fountain is a sea-creature, and not a dolphin as everyone suspects - Bernini did actually know what a dolphin looked like! Be careful while you wonder at the masterpiece, though, as you may find yourself the victim of a pickpocket.

Probably my favorite place in Rome. Filled with artists and activity and food, the Piazza Navona is a nice place to stroll in the evening. DO KEEP MOVING, THOUGH. The Piazza is filled with Gypsies just waiting for you to sit down or stand still so that they can pick your pocket or otherwise take advantage of you. A girl in my group sat down and this Gypsy started braiding her hair with thread, when she objected, the Gypsy took a pair of scissors and was going to cut that lock out. She luckily got away, but you've got to use common sense and be aware of your surroundings.

Perhaps the most beautiful piazza in the city, Piazza Navona used to be a Roman circus (that’s why its shape is elliptical). This elegant area, surrounded by beautiful houses, the Church of Sant’Agnese and adorned by three of Bernini’s fountains, is a Roman trademark. And of course, let us not forget the mandatory obelisk! I recommend you take a moment to sit down and enjoy a coffee while looking at people passing by -- very relaxing and enjoyable.

The main fountain is La Fontana dei Quatri Fiumi (1651) or Fountains of the Four Rivers -- and what are those? They are the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges and the Rio della Plata (in that order). Now, the face of the allegoric figure of the Nile is veiled and it’s been subject to different interpretations. One of them is that, at the time, no one knew where the source of the Nile was. The other has to do Bernini’s career. Borromini, who designed the Church of Sant'Agnese was his rival and the Nile and Rio della Plata figures were designed to shield their eyes from the church, as a sign of disdain. If you look at the statue of Sant'Agnese on top of church, you'll see her gaze goes way over the piazza, another sign of disdain. Though, this first part of the story doesn't seem likely because the fountain was finished before the construction of Sant'Agnese began. .... I don't know.

You will find a lot of street vendors will sell their fares (fake soccer jersey, fake bags). If you really, really have to have one, don’t forget to barter or you’ll be ripped off.