Piazza Colonna

Colonna Square owes its name to the Column of Marcus Aurelius, which once stood here since antiquity. The Square, built in the late sixteenth century by Pope Sixtus V, has a rectangular plan and is surrounded by some of the most important historical buildings in Rome: in front of the column, on the north side, there is the entrance of the Chigi Palace; on the left, on the west side, Wedekind Palace, historic seat of the newspaper "The Time"; heading south, Ferraioli Palace and finally Palace of Colonna Gallery (now the "Alberto Sordi Gallery"), historic meeting of the wealthy classes. The fountain, designed by Giacomo Della Porta and commissioned by Gregory XIII, consists of a large marble bath of Chios, decorated by sixteen vertical bands in Carrara marble, two groups of dolphins and a small bowl in the center (sculptural elements nineteenth century, result of the restoration of Achille Stocchi).