7: The Piazza Navona

It’s difficult to imagine it now, but the Piazza Navona we see today sits on the footprint of what was a major sporting stadium that accommodated roughly 30,000 spectators.  Known it its day as the Circus Agonalis it was commissioned by Emperor Domitian and opened in the year 86. This tour, which starts at the south end of the piazza, gives the history of the site as well as context and explanation of the 16th and 17th century fountains.