Campo de Fiori…a piazza that has been around for centuries is a busy market in the morning and a  favorite nightlife spot for locals. The statue of Dominican Friar Bruno Giordan, who was burned alive in the same spot where the statue stands, watches over the piazza. In the morning, vendors begin setting up for the day as early as 6am while waiters from the restaurants in the piazza weave through the stands delivering morning cappuccinos and espressos. By 7am, locals and tourist begin to fill the piazza. Chefs from nearby restaurants examine the fresh produce to get a sense of what their menu will look like for the day as lively conversations between them and the vendors fill the piazza. We walked past stands filled with the freshest fruits and vegetables, different olive oils, herbs and spices and homemade pastas. Vendors selling clothing, souvenirs and home goods bargained with those trying to get a steal. The busyness of it all made it apparent that this seems to be a daily tradition that has kept this piazza going for centuries. We tried the Limoncello, Italy’s second favorite liqueur that is mainly produced in Southern Italy. There were various flavors like melon, strawberry and mango. The vendor allowed us to taste each flavor and I felt a slight buzz begin to settle in which told me that a whole bottle of this would probably knock me out!

We ate lunch in one of the restaurants in the piazza and enjoyed people watching, The manager of the restaurant stood in front trying to bring tourists in to eat a meal and was very amusing in his tactics. I had a margherita pizza and my husband had the carbonara (which was basically all he ate throughout the whole trip). The food was delicious and enough to be able to hold us over for some time. Musicians filled the piazza with music while workers shuffled carts in and out of the small alleys, replenishing flowers in one stand or taking away carts that have already been emptied. The market usually closes down by 2pm and restaurants close down to reopen at a later time in the night.

We decided to walk around and see what else we would be able to stumble on. We walked through picturesque alleys that contained window sills decorated with flowers and canopies of clothes that were hung out to dry.  We passed open air galleries that housed beautiful sculptures being studied by art students from the university nearby. Far in the distance, you could hear the sirens of an ambulance or the horn of a vespa weaving in and out of traffic. The calm of the morning had drifted away and the streets were becoming alive with the daily sounds of the city.

We found our way to the Piazza della Rotonda, which houses the famous Pantheon (Pan= everything, Theon= divinity). Built between 118-125 AD, it is the most preserved building of Ancient Rome and was a temple for all the gods of Pagan Rome. The famous Renaissance painter, whose work can be seen throughout the city of Rome, is buried here along with his fiancee. The Pantheon also has Italian kings like Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I buried here and houses beautiful chapels and paintings. The oculus at the top of the dome allows the slanted rays of sunshine to enter the building. The architecture of the building is truly astounding and is known to impress architects due to the mathematical genius that has allowed the construction of this amazing building. We spent a good amount of time at the beautiful fountain that sits across the Pantheon, watching the ebb of crowds come and go.

Piazza Navona is not far from the Pantheon and we found our way to the middle of this beautiful area. The Fountain of Four Rivers by Bernini was one of the things I wanted to see the most and here it was. Of course, as I stated previously, I am a big fan of Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons so seeing this made it much more exciting for me. I still found myself in awe at the beautiful and intricate details that these fountains and monuments contained. The piazza also contained the Egyptian Obelisk of Domitian and the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone as well as two other smaller fountains. Restaurants lined the piazza and  its center  was filled with painters, sketch artists and musicians. We ate at a small restaurant right across the Fountain of Four Rivers while being serenaded by an old Italian man singing in Italian with guitarists in the back ground. It was the perfect set up and I found myself so overwhelmed with happiness. This experience so far had been a dream come true, however, sitting in the historical piazza and having what I felt was a true Italian experience brought such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that I would not have mind if we spent the rest of our trip in that moment.

Along with the atmosphere, the food we ate was amazing. I had a seafood pasta dish where the mussels seemed to melt like butter and my husband had, of course, the carbonara. We (well I) had a bottle of the house wine and I found myself feeling a lot more relaxed and slightly drunk than I would’ve expected. For dessert we had tiramisu, and I finally realized what we were previously eating as tiramisu back at home was not even close to the real thing. We ended our meal with espressos while enjoying the musicians that entertained the crowd. After dinner we made our way back to the Pantheon and it took on a different feel under the blanket of the night. Still beautiful, shrouded by the black background, it seemed a bit more domineering as if trying lure you through its giant columns and doors to go back in time.

We ended our night back in St. Peter’s Square, which seemed to be our new tradition since arriving in Rome. It seemed to be the perfect place to sit and reflect as the square seems to just open and invite you in for that exact purpose.