Giornale 1: Piazza del Popolo

On Friday when we traveled to go to dinner at Il Margutta “RistorArte” with Dan’s friend Alessandra Bava, I caught my first glimpse of the Piazza del Popolo. After a short ride on the Metro from Lepanto to Flaminia, entering the Piazza was more impactful than I expected. As we approached the central obelisk, I could find few visual differences with the Piranesi sketch we had studied for the final exam. It was around 7:30 at night but the sun was still out and it was the perfect temperature, so I had no problem waiting around outside before our 8pm dinner reservation. While standing with the group, Emily and Dan were trying to identify the statues of Roman gods at either end of the piazza. One was definitely Neptune, and we concluded that the other was probably a deceivingly masculine Minerva. We also looked around at different street performers and tourists making their way through the square. Many stopped to take photographs while street vendors tried to seize these opportunities to sell roses and other superfluous items. At the center of the piazza there was a tall obelisk with Egyptian hieroglyphs covering the entire surface. Every time we see an obelisk I think of the original intent of its display. This one, brought to Rome by Augustus, certainly reminds any Roman of the original scope of the massive empire. Unlike a simple column or arch, the mystery and exoticness of obelisks exhibit Rome’s diversity and expansiveness. At the base of the obelisk in the piazza, there are more recent sculptures of lions and steps. Many people were resting on the steps and admiring the sunset, while a few of our Rome Kids mounted the lions for a photo opportunity. As depicted in the head-on perspective of the Piranesi engraving, there are also two churches in the Piazza del Popolo. The Church of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli are so similar that they are nearly indistinguishable from each other. They give a sense of balance and symmetry to the space, just like the fountain sculptures of Neptune and Minerva do in their location adjacent to the churches. For such a public area and center of tourism and commerce, the Piazza del Popolo was surprisingly calm. If I were a citizen or inhabitant of Rome I would not avoid the area like I might avoid tourist-y locations like the Colosseum. I can picture myself going out to dinner or shopping in the area uninhibited and unbothered by crowds. Spending just half an hour standing on the cobblestone in the square, I can remember my observations perfectly. Between the immediate recognition from Piranesi’s drawings to the logical balance and symmetry of the piazza, I know it is a site of Rome I will not soon forget.