Won't Take No for an Answer

As I was walking through Piazza Navona today, I stopped by the first place I ever tried gelato to see the name of it. I saw that it was Mariotti and proceeded to walk away but the man working there wouldn't let that happen. He asked me if I wanted ice cream, and I replied no because I'd already had some. He grabbed my hand and ushered me inside, telling me to at least taste the cioccolato, since it was named the best in Rome. In fact, there was even an award featured prominently on the wall that verified his claim. I took a scoop and said ciao and was off on my way.

Sometimes, to generalize, Italians can get very pushy to the point where it's annoying. However, I loved this interaction. The gelateria man was extremely nice and just trying to garner some business, and for some reason I separated it from the other times I felt the servers were trying too hard. I don't think I cared because he wasn't asking for my money, he just wanted me to try the best chocolate. These are the little things I'm going to miss when I leave Rome in a week and a day, and I'll be counting down the days until I return once more to Roma.

Sant' Agnese in Agone

The giant facade that takes up most of Piazza Navona is that of Sant' Agnese in Agone. Borromini created this massive structure after he replaced father/son architects Girolama and Carlo Rainaldi, who were commissioned to build it by Pope Innocent X. Borromini mostly followed the former architects' plans, but he strayed in that the facade is concave, in order to emphasize the dome.

The church was built over the site of a brothel where Saint Agnes was stripped naked in order to make her renounce her faith. She wouldn't and miraculously her hair grew long enough to cover her exposed body. St. Agnes was also martyred there, which is another reason why a church to honor her is suitable.

Sant' Agnese in Agone is just one example of the many scattered throughout Rome with specific ties to a saint. This is one thing I like a lot because it gives people a chance to learn the history behind the saint and what they stood for and how they lived their lives.

Hollywood Navona

Before I had even read Angels & Demons, I was learning about Piazza Navona in my architecture class. I loved it then and longed to see it, and after I read the book I wanted to even more so, if only to get a better picture of the setting.

I haven't seen the film yet, but I know Navona plays a crucial part in the climactic moments of the plot. The movie pulls into it all the elements of Piazza Navona one loves, specifically the Fountain of the Four Rivers. I think it would have been interesting to be here while filming was going on to see how the drew worked their way around the famous piazza without disturbing its charm. However, I also think I'm better off without having seen the filming, because then I can just enjoy Piazza Navona the way it is, a pretty oval filled with arts and food.

Living in Navona.

Some of our friends in the Architectural Engineering program were fortunate enough to be assigned the apartments overlooking Piazza Navona. I have no idea how this happened. All I know is I'm a little bit jealous. The AE kids get to look down on a beautiful piazza bustling with activity for the same price every had to pay, even those living far off in Trastevere.

People can rent the apartment fitted around the outside of the piazza, but the prices can get pretty steep. However, if I were ever to somehow someway make enough money, when I come back I would definitely look into staying in a place like this.

Gotcha!

Today, I decided to just relax and do some people watching in Piazza Navona. I grabbed a panini and strolled through the artwork displayed in the center, constantly amazed at how beautiful these handmade creations were.

When I first walked into the Piazza, there was a noticeable quiet-the water from Il Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was absent, and the fountain dried up. I'm still wondering why this was; maybe it was time for a cleaning? However, it didn't tear at me too much so I neglected to ask anyone. Instead, I took a seat on a bench and enjoyed the beautiful weather and crowds of people.

Naturally, there were some peddlers around offering sun umbrellas and hats. One such man didn't forsee what he got today; two policemen taking him in, most likely for a fine. Watching the scene play out was actually pretty comical. At first, he ran away and just went to the other side of the piazza. His mistake was to just take a seat right there, for the officers saw him and decided to stalk him like prey until they jumped behind him. All I know was that afterwards they walked him somewhere, and when they were walking back he had none of the goodies he was hawking earlier.

In our three weeks of being here, that was the first time I have seen a peddler get any kind of reercussion for their actions. I guess the polizia were just trying to keep the beautiul piazza free of any kind of blemishes.

Pennsylvania, Anyone?

Although it is a relative ghost town around midnight, Piazza Navona was in full swing when we walked through it last night around 22:00. There were people hanging out near the fountains, and music blaring as we reached our cross street. This was because some guys had taped a flat cardboard box to the cobblestones and were breakdancing all over it. As much fun as I think it would be to learn to breakdance, cobblelstones and headspins just wouldn't mix well for me.

We were strolling through Navona to head to what many people dub the Penn State bar. Boticelli's is located right in between Via di Parione and Via di Santa Maria dell' Anima, and it is a fun place to just sit, relax, and hang out. It's a cozy atmosphere where we didn't have to scream to be heard over the music; actual conversations could be had. We went for a little bit and got a feeling of home, with many American colleges' penants hanging throughout the bar. A recurring theme was Penn State and in the last Stanley Cup series, a Pens game was playing. Being able to walk in and say hi to Giovanni, who remembered us, made us feel like we had carried a little piece of PA with us to Roma.

Navona at Night

On these weekend night that my friends and I go out, it's not surprising for us to see people hanging around statues and monuments with store bought beverages having a good time. This is most notable in Campo de' Fiori, where throngs of people crowd around Giordano Bruno any given night to catch up with friends, stop for a few to figure out their next move, or just sit and people watch.

If one would like to see a stark contrast to this, simply walk a few streets to Piazza Navona. My friends and I walked through there at around midnight last night, and coming from the lively piazza of Campo de' Fiori, Navona looked like a ghost town. In the famous piazza's defense, Campo de' Fiori is surrounded by bars and restaurants open until late, whereas Navona attractions had all shut down.

Even though no one was throwing themselves over the fountains, there were a few stragglers chatting on the benches. Walking through was pretty amazing; we were able to catch the piazza in a rare state of solitude, although we did liven it up for the few minutes that we strolled through, as seen by the fabulous poses of Sam, Aimee, Joe and Jackie.

Markets at Navona

When I first got to Piazza Navona, there was a tent erected right in the middle with what appeared to be a little bookshop inside. Of course, I would never pass up the opportunity to look through books, even if they were all in Italian and I had no idea what I was looking at. I strolled through the inside and came out on the other when I stumbled over all the artists creating and selling their work.

Piazza Navona was once a place filled with fresh fruits and vegetables on weekday mornings. The open air market that now fills up the middle of Campo de' Fiori was moved from Piazza Navona. However, Navona wasn't the first place it stood; the market was originally in the Campodoglio.

Today, there aren't food markets found there, but around Christmastime there is its famous Christmas market with goodies for people of all ages to enjoy. I would have liked to have seen such a thing, but even now the beauty of the piazza resonates with every step, regardless of what is situated inside.

1. "Piazza Navona, monuments of Rome, art, itineraries." Activitaly, guide in Rome and Italy. 25 May 2009 .

2. Publishing, DK. Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides). New York: DK Travel, 2006.

Come, Eat Here!

Like many of the piazzas found throughout Rome, Piazza Navona is encircled by ristorantes and shops. When one walks by, most times there will be servers trying to get you to sit outdoors and try their food. My classmates and I got lured into one such eatery when starving after class one day. It happened to be the first place we looked at and decided to just sit down.

Lunch was good, but the waiter was probably better, seeing as he continuously put on a show for us. He joked around with us, referring to my roommate Jackie as "Blondie" and exclaiming how everyone spoke Italian that day after we had ordered our meals. He looked at the bottom of the wine bottle when it was empty, insinuatind there was a hole in it because we had finished. The whole thing probably happens dozens of times in a day, and we were just a few out of his audience.

This type of thing happens daily in Rome, where a worker tries to lure you in with their menu, but not all the time do the servers play so much to their diners. When I first thought of him calling Jackie "Blondie" I thought it was kind of rude, but now that I think about it, people in the United States do that all the time and it makes for a better dining experience. So even if the food may have been over priced because of the touristy Piazza Navona, this Italian kept us entertained and having fun throughout our lunch in the hot sun, and I would go back, if only to see if he pulls the same tricks again.

Thank You, ArtH297

Although I wish I was living in Rome for seven weeks purely for fun, I am taking classes, one of which mandated this blog. We had to pick a theme and a place to write about a few times each week, and I feel like it took me forever to decide which-out of the hundreds in the city-I should do. I decided to concentrate on the theme of fountains and the beautiful place of Piazza Navona.


I learned of Navona in my ArtH297 class last spring, and the name has always stuck with me. Being able to see it firsthand was amazing. It is different than most piazzas in Rome due to its shape, which is of Domitian's Stadium. Athletic competitions used to be held there, and the stadium could hold around 33,000 people. Today, every day is filled with artists in the center and street performers strumming guitars around the sphere. There are multiple ristorantes circling the center, and one must be careful of the sly Italian waiter ready to lure you in for some food - my classmates and I were not so lucky during our second visit. Piazza Navona is a place to sit and relax in the warm summer sun; it is also the place where one can enter a gelateria and fall in love with gelato, helping to cool one off when the sun becomes too much. It was where I first tried and subsequently fell in love with the delicious dessert, enuring that Piazza Navona will always hold a special place in my heart.


1. Publishing, DK. Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides). New York: DK Travel, 2006.