Piazza
Navona
The
Piazza Navona, or "Circo Agonale", occupies
the spot where once stood the stadium of Domitian, which
held up to 30.000 spectators. Here are three magnificient
fountains. The one in the centre is the Fountain of the
Four Rivers by Bernini. The church of S. Agnese in Agone,
is built on the spot where, according to tradition, the
virgin Agnese, denuded before her martyrdom, was mantled
in her hair, which had grown miraculously to cover her.
It is a magnificent Baroque building designed by G. Rainaldi
and Borromini. Beneath it are some remains of the original
church and of the Circus of Domitian.
