Piazza del Popolo
People's Square, at the foot of the Pincio, is one of the most famous squares in Rome. The origin of its name is uncertain, perhaps due to the chapel of St. Mary of the People, built by Pope Paschal II in the eleventh century, at the expense of the Roman people. In 1589, Pope Sixtus V want at the center of the Square the great Flaminio Obelisk, built at the time of the pharaohs Ramses II and Merenptah (1232-1220 BC) with a height of 24 meters, ensuring the transfer of the fountain commissioned by his predecessor in Via del Corso. On the Square facing the homonymous Gate, built in the '600 and commissioned by Pope Pius IV, and two twin churches: St. Mary in Montesanto (1675) and St. Mary of the Myracols (1678), built by Pope Alexander VII. The Square takes its present aspect only in the late nineteenth century, by neoclassical architect Giuseppe Valadier: elliptical form completed by a double exedra and decorated with numerous fountains ("Fountain of the Goddess of Rome", "Neptune Fountain") and statues, which extends towards the Pincio Terrace and the River Tiber. Today, People's Square is a wide pedestrian area, center of important public events.
