Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is one of Rome's most celebrated baroque squares, occupying the elongated footprint of the ancient Stadium of Domitian, built in the first century AD for athletic competitions. Its distinctive shape has been preserved through centuries of building and rebuilding, and today the piazza is defined by three monumental fountains, the most famous of which is Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, completed in 1651. The surrounding palaces and the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, designed in part by Francesco Borromini, give the square an architectural coherence that makes it one of the finest open-air spaces in Europe.

The piazza functions as a living centre of Roman public life, drawing visitors who come to study its sculpture, sit at its cafes, and watch street artists at work. The Rome Historic Center Secret Food Tour uses the square and its surrounding streets as a starting point for exploring the culinary traditions of this part of the city, connecting the baroque grandeur of the architecture with the trattorias, markets, and food producers that have supplied the neighbourhood for generations.