Centro Storico ~ Piazza Navona ~ Rome, Italy

We set out on another wonderful day of walking around Rome.  The weather for our visit at the end of September was great for enjoying the sights and sounds in this great city.



Streets of Rome, Italy

Centro Storico is Rome’s historic center and was located within our daily walks where we would follow narrow medieval lanes lined with cafés, shops, restaurants with their tables and chairs seeming to spill onto the lanes and find no end to the treasures hiding at every turn.



Piazza Navona in Centro Storico, Rome

This was where chariot racing was held around AD 86 and still remains to be long and oval shaped and full of lots of activities.  Someone dressed all in white on elevated shoes poses with passersby for a fee.  He didn’t appear to be too busy but this is the quiet end of the piazza with one of the three fountains.



Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi ~ Piazza Navona

This fountain represents the four largest rivers from the only four continents known in the world in 1651, when this fountain was created. The Danube, Ganges, Nile and Plata Rivers were a theme of one each corner and is the big attraction in the piazza. 



Fountain facing Church Sant'Agnese of Agone in Rome

The fountain has a lot of detail that one could sit and look at for hours.  It does seem to be a great subject for artists in the area, there were several sitting around the fountain sketching and other people were just sitting and enjoying the view.   



Art for sale in Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy

There were many artists with their booths set up doing business and were there from morning to night.  The traffic is high in this area and that seems to make it a great place if you’re looking for art to purchase.  We saw some very beautiful paintings on our walk-by.

Fontana di Nettuno in Rome

The fountain at the north end of the piazza and closer to where the art booths are set up, is Fontana di Nettuno built in 1574.  No matter what plaza you might enter in this city, you are very likely to find a fountain.  They vary in many ways with design and size but they tend to be large and most of them are steeped in history.  They all have a story to tell. 

Castel Sant'Angelo on Tiber River in Rome

Another wonderful day in Rome comes to an end as we walk back to our hotel, enjoying the walk along the Taber River where we see a nighttime view of Castel Sant’Angelo. ( Click here to learn more about this historical fortress).  We have had a wonderful day walking the streets of Rome seeing sights we didn’t expect to see and look forward to more on our walks tomorrow.

For more of our visit in Rome, click here to see our visit to Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps and more.