Fodor's Expert Review Piazza in Piscinula

One of Trastevere's most historic and time-burnished squares (albeit one that's now a bit overrun by traffic), this piazza takes its name from ancient Roman baths on the site (piscina means "pool"). It's said that the tiny church of San Benedetto on the piazza was built on the home of Roman nobles in which St. Benedict lived in the 5th century. Opposite is the medieval Casa dei Mattei (House of the Mattei), where the rich and powerful Mattei family lived until the 16th century, when, after a series of murders on the premises, colorful legend has it that they were forced to move out of the district, crossing the river to build their magnificent palace close to the Jewish Ghetto.