Piazza Campo de’ Fiori

Usually when a tourist come to Rome the first stop in the city tour is Piazza Campo de’ Fiori, a large rectangular square in the city centre where is still possible to breathe the original Roman atmosphere. During the ancient time there was in this area the Pompey’s Theatre, whose traces can be observed in the particular shape of a building in Piazza del Teatro di Pompeo. Later, during the Middle Ages, this area was a meadow, from which the actual name of the square, Campo de’ Fiori (Field of flowers) derives. The area was paved during the 15th century, and from then on it has become the main centre of all the economic and commercial activities: not only does the square still house a coloured and characteristic market every morning, the surrounding streets have been named for trades as well (via dei Cappellari for the hat-makers, via dei Chiavari for the key-makers, via dei Giubbonari for tailors and so on). Piazza Campo de’ Fiori is also popular for the cruel capital punishments that were usually held here: the most famous victim punished here is without any doubt the philosopher Giordano Bruno, burnt alive by the Roman Inquisition because of his revolutionary ideas, such as the heliocentrism. Today this dramatic event is commemorate by a bronze statue realized in 1887 by Ettore Ferrari and representing Giordano Bruno, with his back symbolically turned to the Vatican. At night, Campo dei Fiori is a popular crowded meeting place for young people, both Italian and foreign.