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ROME : THE COLORS OF CAMPO DEI FIORI |
Tradition would have it that the name comes from Flora, Pompeo's lover, but more likely it comes from the fact that in the late 1300's, the piazza was abandoned for a brief period, and became a meadow. Since 1869 it has been the home to a vibrant and colorful market. In the center rises the monument to Giordano Bruno, who in seventeenth century was burned here at the stake as a heretic for contending that the universe has no center.
This philosopher burned on the rogo by the catholic Inquisition for the accusation of heresy on February 17th 1600 after Christ.
The execution is nowadays remembered by a statue built in 1889 after Christ and placed at the centre of the "Campo dei Fiori" by Pietro Cossa and which is the work of the sculptor Ettore Ferrari.
This is a lively piazza where a flower and vegetable market is held every morning except Sunday.
Many of the streets near Campo de' Fiori are named after the artisans who traditionally occupied them, for example Via dei Cappellari (hatters), Via dei Baullari (trunk makers) and Via dei Chiavari (key makers). Via dei Giubbonari (jacket makers) runs off the southern corner of the piazza and leads to the Chiesa di San Carlo ai Catinari built in the 17th century. The church and the beautiful dome were designed by Rosato Rosati. Inside, there are altarpieces by Pietro da Cortona and Giovanni Lanfranco among others. It is open from 7.30 am to noon and from 4.30 to 7 pm.
The northern corner of Campo de' Fiori leads to Piazza della Cancelleria which is dominated by the Palazzo della Cancelleria, a Renaissance palace built in the late 15th century for Cardinal Raffaello Riario. At one time it housed the Papal Chancery and it is still used by the vatican because it represents one of its properties in Rome. It is thought that Bramante designed the double loggia in the magnificent interior courtyard. Recent excavations beneath the palazzo have revealed ruins of one of the most important early Christian churches in Rome, the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Damaso, which was finally demolished in the 15th century to make way for a new church (of the same name) and the palazzo into which it is incorporated.
In Campo dei Fiori do not miss a visit to Palazzo Braschi which houses the Museo di Roma founded in 1930 to illustrate the history and life of Rome from the Middle Ages to the present. Many of the exhibits, which include paintings, statues and architectural decorations, came from buildings that have since been demolished.
Heading in an easterly direction along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, you come to the late 16th century Chiesa di Sant'Andrea della Valle. The elaborate façade was completed in the 17th century and is in high baroque style. The church's dome is the highest in Rome after that of the Basilica di San Pietro and was designed by Carlo Maderno. Frescoes by Giovanni Lanfranco and Domenichino decorate the inside of the dome. Domenichino also did the frescoes around the apse and altar. The competition between the artists was fierce, especially when they were working at the same time, and legend has it that Domenichino once even took a saw to Lanfranco's scaffold. The church is open from 7.30 to noon and from 4.30 to 7.30 pm.