The Campo Dei Fiori in Rome

Campo Dei Fiori translates to field of flowers, and it's so named because for many centuries, this area was a meadow, even while the region around it was built up. The rectangular piazza is close to Piazza Navona in Rome, and is located on the border of rione Parione and rione Regola.

For the majority of the ancient period, no one used this region, and that continued up into the medieval era. This is because of the frequent flooding of the Tiber River, which often rendered it unusable. By the thirteenth century, there was an Orsini settlement on the southern side of the unoccupied space, but development would wait until the fifteenth century.

The first church built in this area was the Santa Brigida a Campo dei Fiori. Because of construction and urbanization through the centuries, it now faces the Piazza Farnese. The Campo itself was first paved in the middle of the fifteenth century, during the reign of Pope Callixtus III, at the order of Cardinal Tervisani.

The paving project was just part of an initiative to improve rione Parione, and several buildings and renovations occurred in the immediate area, including rebuilding the old Orsini palace. Even though there's been a lot of building over the centuries, there's no real formalization of the Campo dei Fiori, and it has been a focus of commercial efforts and street culture for many years.

This noticeable if you investigate the names of streets in the general area, such as the Via dei Balestrari - the street of crossbow makers, the Via dei Cappellari - the street of hat makers, and streets for makers fo coffers, keys, and clothing. The Via Florea and Via Pellegrino are larger streets in the area, created by order of Pope Sixtus IV.

It's these large streets that brought the Campo dei Fiori the most success, since many important people passing between the Basilica di San Giovanni and the Vatican needed to come through the area. That meant that more money and more visitors came to the Campo dei Fiori, bringing it inns, hotels, stores and a horse market.

The area was also the site of public executions, including that of Giordano Bruno, burned alive for his ideas about the structure of the solar system, and whose work was considered forbidden by the church. In recent centuries, this execution has become an emblem of freedom of speech, and in 1887, a monument was erected on the spot where he died.

The Campo dei Fiori still has a morning vegetable and fish market, and it's been operating since the mid nineteenth century. There's also an ancient fountain there, which used to water animals and now is used to keep flowers in good condition. In the afternoon, you'll find outdoor cafes in the piazza, and at night you'll see many young people coming to the Campo dei Fiori for entertainment.

This area is a wonderful choice for anyone who's interested in staying in Rome apartments for their holiday, since it's not as densely populated as some of the more popular piazzas in the city. Be sure to take enough time to find out about accommodations in this area and see if there's one that'll work for you. You won't be disappointed.