Campo de’ Fiori

In the center of Campo de' Fiori stands the statue of Giordano Bruno, a Dominican friar, philosopher and mathematicians. Bruno was burned alive here in 1600 after the Catholic Church accused him of heresy for advocating similar cosmological arguments to those put forward by Galileo.

Immortalized in stone, his dark and brooding figure embodies all the historic martyrs who were executed on this site for daring to defy the church. The statue's positioning is significant: not only does it stand on the exact site of his execution, but Bruno's bronze figure has stood facing the Vatican since the date of its dedication in 1889.

Soaring above the blossoming market, Bruno's statue stands as a stark and powerful reminder of Campo de' Fiori's morbid history. No churches were built here until the 15th century, nor was it until this period that the square was even paved. And so as unused space between the Largo di Torre Argentina and the often flooding Tiber, Campo de' Fiori served as the scene of public executions.

Surrounding Campo de’ Fiori are medieval streets lined with artisan shops radiating out in nine directions. Many of these streets take their names after the type of trade or craft practiced there. We have the

for the crossbow-makers, the

for the hat-makers, the Via dei Baullari for those who made the aristocracy's coffersm and the

for the much continued trade of tailoring.

The Campo de' Fiori is also the site of an ancient cattle fountain known as la terrina (i.e. "soup bowl"). La terrina is filled daily with freshly cut flowers, a homage to its name and use in ancient Roman days.

The fountain bares an old inscription, reading: Fa del ben e lassa dir - "Do good and let them talk". This still seems entirely appropriate, given the exchange and gossipy nature of the marketplace.

Campo de' Fiori is about as centrally situated as it gets (not all that surprising given it was a place of public execution and so had to be easily accessible for all).

It's just a five-minute walk from most of Rome's main monuments (the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Teatro di Torre Argentina) and a 10-minute walk from neighborhoods like Trastevere and the Vatican City.

The only thing to bear in mind is that it isn't connected to a metro line, so you'll either want to get the metro to Colosseo or Spagna and take a meandering walk through the historic center or get a bus or tram into the center (Piazza Venezia or Largo di Torre Argentina) and head here on foot.