Fodor's Expert Review Piazza Venezia
Piazza Venezia stands at what was the beginning of Via Flaminia, the ancient Roman road leading northeast across Italy to Fano on the Adriatic Sea. From this square, Rome's geographic heart, all distances from the city are calculated.
The piazza was transformed in the late 19th century when much older ruins were destroyed to make way for a modern capital city (and a massive monument to unified Italy's first king). The massive female bust near the church of San Marco in the corner of the piazza, a fragment of a statue of Isis, is known to the Romans as Madama Lucrezia. This was one of the "talking statues" on which anonymous poets hung verses pungent with political satire, a practice that has not entirely ended.
The Via Flaminia remains a vital artery. The part leading from Piazza Venezia to Piazza del Popolo is now known as Via del Corso, after the horse races (corse) that were run here during the wild Roman carnival celebrations of the 17th and 18th centuries. It... READ MORE
Piazza Venezia stands at what was the beginning of Via Flaminia, the ancient Roman road leading northeast across Italy to Fano on the Adriatic Sea. From this square, Rome's geographic heart, all distances from the city are calculated.
The piazza was transformed in the late 19th century when much older ruins were destroyed to make way for a modern capital city (and a massive monument to unified Italy's first king). The massive female bust near the church of San Marco in the corner of the piazza, a fragment of a statue of Isis, is known to the Romans as Madama Lucrezia. This was one of the "talking statues" on which anonymous poets hung verses pungent with political satire, a practice that has not entirely ended.
The Via Flaminia remains a vital artery. The part leading from Piazza Venezia to Piazza del Popolo is now known as Via del Corso, after the horse races (corse) that were run here during the wild Roman carnival celebrations of the 17th and 18th centuries. It also happens to be one of Rome's busiest shopping streets.
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