Visiting Piazza Navona:An excellent example of Baroque Roman Architecture with great Sculptural Creations-the Fountain of Four Rivers,Sant’Agnese Church & Fountain del Moro.

On our 3-day tour of Rome,we visited & enjoyed some amazing architectures & sculptures!Here I am posting their brief description & photos for my readers.Piazza Navona owes its name to the agonal games (in agonis), gymnastic competitions that took place in ancient Rome. Over time it is believed that the name “in agone” has changed to “Navone” and, due to its similarity to the hollow profile of a ship, the square finally assumed the name “Navona” .Piazza Navona is one of the most beautiful squares in Rome, home to some of its most famous fountains, like the Fountain of the Four Rivers and the Fountain of Neptune.Also took a stroll through the historic Domitian Stadium!Enjoyed the tasty Italian snacks-Suppli.

PIAZZA NAVONA:

In Ancient Rome, the site was a stadium built during Emperor Domitian’s rule. Nowadays, Piazza Navona is best known as a location for Baroque architecture, like Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). It is a public open space in Rome. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1st century AD.Defined as a public space in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred there from the Campidoglio, Piazza Navona was transformed into a highly significant example of Baroque Roman architecture and art during the pontificate of Innocent X, who reigned from 1644 until 1655, and whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced the piazza. It features important sculptural creations: in the centre stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, topped by the Obelisk of Domitian, brought in pieces from the Circus of Maxentius;the church of Sant’Agnese.

Fontana del Moro (Moor Fountain)

Its a fountain located at the southern end of the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy. It represents a Moor, or African (perhaps originally meant to be Neptune), standing in a conch shell, wrestling with a dolphin, surrounded by four Tritons. It is placed in a basin of rose-colored marble.
History:
The fountain was originally designed by Giacomo della Porta in 1575 with the dolphin and four Tritons. 16th-century artists including Gillis van den Vliete, Taddeo Landini, Simone Moschini and Giacobbe Silla Longhi sculpted the tritons, dragons and masks after the designs of della Porta.In 1653, the statue of the Moor, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and sculpted by Giannantonio Mari, was added. In 1874, during a restoration of the fountain, the original statues were moved to the Galleria Borghese and replaced with copies by Luigi Amici. In September 2011, the fountain was damaged after a vandal attacked it with a hammer. The vandal also damaged the Trevi Fountain that night.

During its history, the piazza has hosted theatrical events and other ephemeral activities. From 1652 until 1866, when the festival was suppressed, it was flooded on every Saturday and Sunday in August in elaborate celebrations of the Pamphilj family. The pavement level was raised in the 19th century, and in 1869 the market was moved to the nearby Campo de’ Fiori. A Christmas market is held in the piazza square.

SANT’ AGNESE CHURCH IN AGONE (also called Sant’Agnese in Piazza Navona):

It is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian. Construction began in 1652 under the architects Girolamo Rainaldi and his son Carlo Rainaldi. After numerous quarrels, the other main architect involved was Francesco Borromini.The church is a titular deaconry, with Gerhard Ludwig Müller being the current Cardinal-Deacon.well as religious services, the church hosts regular classical concerts in the Borromini Sacristy, from sacred Baroque works to chamber music and operas

THE STADIUM OF DOMITIAN:

It was dedicated in AD 86, as part of an Imperial building programme at the Field of Mars, following the damage or destruction of most of its buildings by fire in AD 79. It was Rome’s first permanent venue for competitive athletics. It was patterned after the Greek model and seated approximately 15,000 – 20,000 – a smaller, more appropriate venue for foot-races than the Circus Maximus, although a catalogue complied at the end of the 4th century recorded that the stadium’s seating capacity was 33,080 persons. The substructures and support frames were made of brick and concrete – a robust, fire-retardant and relatively cheap material – clad in marble. Stylistically, the Stadium facades would have resembled those of the Colosseum; its floor plan followed the same elongated, U-shape as the Circus Maximus, though on a much smaller scale. Various modern sources estimate the arena length to have been approximately 200 – 250 metres, the height of its outer perimeter benches as 30 m (100 ft) above ground level and its inner perimeter benches as 4.5 m (15 ft) above the arena floor.This arrangement offered a clear view of the track from most seats. The typically Greek layout gave the Stadium its Latinised Greek name, in agones (the place or site of the competitions). The flattened end was sealed by two vertically staggered entrance galleries and the perimeter was arcaded beneath the seating levels, with travertine pilasters between its cavea (enclosures). The formation of a continuous arena trackway by a raised “spina” or strip has been conjectured.
The Stadium of Domitian was the northernmost of an impressive series of public buildings on the Campus Martius. To its south stood the smaller and more intimate Odeon of Domitian, used for recitals, song and orations. The southernmost end of the Campus was dominated by the Theater of Pompey, restored by Domitian during the same rebuilding program.

SUPPLI :A typically Roman cuisine :

Supplì (Italianization of the French word surprise) are Italian snacks consisting of a ball of rice (generally risotto) with tomato sauce, typical of Roman cuisine. Originally, they were filled with chicken giblets, mincemeat or provatura (a kind of cheese from Lazio),now also with a piece of mozzarella; the whole morsel is soaked in egg, coated with bread crumbs and then fried (usually deep-fried).They are closely related to Sicilian arancini and croquettes. Supplì can be also prepared without tomato sauce.
They are usually eaten with the fingers: when one is broken in two pieces, mozzarella is drawn out in a string somewhat resembling the cord connecting a telephone handset to the hook. This has led to these dishes being known as supplì al telefono (“telephone-style supplì”, in reference to cables).Supplì were originally sold at friggitorie, typical Roman shops where fried food was sold. Now they are commonly served in most pizzerias all around Italy as an antipasto.

At this restaurant we enjoyed the tasty Italian cuisine, SUPPLI !Great fulfilling taste!

My dear readers may kindly point out any incorrect information in my above writeup needing any corrections! I am truly indebted to Wikipedia & for the invaluable information on the subject !Happy Reading !