Campo De' Fiori
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Campo de' Fiori (, ) is a rectangular square south of Piazza Navona in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, Italy, at the border between the '' rioni'' Parione and Regola. It is diagonally southeast of the Palazzo della Cancelleria and one block northeast of the Palazzo Farnese.


History

In
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
, the area was unused space between Pompey's Theatre and the flood-prone
Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...
. Though the Orsini established themselves on the south flank of the space in the 13th century, until the 15th century, the square remained undeveloped. The first church in the immediate vicinity was built during the pontificate of Boniface IX (1389–1404), Santa Brigida a Campo de' Fiori; with the building-up of the ''rione'', the church has now come to face that part of the former square that is now Piazza Farnese. In 1456, under Pope Callixtus III, Ludovico Cardinal Trevisani paved the area as part of a large project to improve rione Parione. This renewal was both the result and cause of several important buildings being built in the surroundings; in particular, the Orsini palace on Campo de' Fiori was rebuilt. The Renaissance Palazzo della Cancelleria can be seen in Vasi's etching, rising majestically beyond the far right corner of the square.


Trade

''Campo de' Fiori'' has never been architecturally formalized. The square has always remained a focus for commercial and street culture: the surrounding streets are named for trades—''Via dei Balestrari'' (
crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
-makers), ''Via dei Baullari'' (coffer-makers), ''Via dei Cappellari'' (hat-makers), ''Via dei Chiavari'' (key-makers) and ''Via dei Giubbonari'' (tailors). With new access streets installed by Sixtus IV— ''Via Florea'' and ''Via Pellegrino''— the square became a part of the ''Via papale'' ("Pope's road"), the street linking Basilica of St. John Lateran and the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
and traversed by the Pope after his election during the so-called "Cavalcata del possesso", when he reached the Lateran from the Vatican to take possession of the city. This urban development brought wealth to the area: A flourishing horse market took place twice a week (Monday and Saturday) and many inns, hotels and shops came to be situated in Campo de' Fiori. The most famous of them, the ''Taverna della Vacca'' ("cow's Inn") still stands at the southwest corner of the square, at the begin of Via de' Cappellari. It belonged to Vannozza dei Cattanei, the most famous lover of
Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...
Borgia, whose family seal is still on display on the house facade.


Executions

Executions used to be held publicly in Campo de' Fiori. Here, on 17 February 1600, the philosopher Giordano Bruno was burnt alive for heresy, and all of his works were placed on the ''
Index of Forbidden Books The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print o ...
'' by the
Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...
. In 1889,
Ettore Ferrari Ettore Ferrari (Rome, 25 March 1845 – Rome, 19 August 1929) was an Italian sculptor and Grand Master Mason. Biography Born in Rome to an artistic family (his father was also a painter), Ferrari was one of the members of the artistic rebirth ...
dedicated a monument to him on the exact spot of his death: He stands defiantly facing the Vatican and was regarded in the first days of a reunited Italy as a martyr to freedom of thought. The inscription on the base reads: A BRUNO – IL SECOLO DA LUI DIVINATO – QUI DOVE IL ROGO ARSE ("To Bruno – the century predicted by him – here where the fire burned"). The body of theologian and scientist Marco Antonio de Dominis was also burned in this square in 1624. The condemned women poisoners of the infamous Spana Prosecution, including the central figure Gironima Spana herself, were executed here in 1659–1660.Monson, Craig A.:
The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners
'
In addition to people, the Holy Office burned the
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
in Campo de' Fiori; the
book burning Book burning is the deliberate destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried out in a public context. The burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or politic ...
took place on September 9, 1553, the first day of the Jewish new year holiday,
Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...
. A plaque commemorating this incident was affixed to the marketplace street in Campo de' Fiori in 2011 (the idea of memorializing this event was inspired by the monument to Giordano Bruno). The plaque quotes a Talmudic description of the martyrdom of Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradion, who was burned alive wrapped in a Torah scroll; it also quotes "Sha'ali Serufah ba-Esh", a lamentation poem by Meir of Rothenburg written after seeing wagon-loads of Talmudic manuscripts burned in Paris in 1242. The demolition of a block of housing in 1858 enlarged Campo de' Fiori, and since 1869, a daily vegetable and fish market that was previously held in Piazza Navona has been held there. The ancient cattle fountain known as ''la Terrina'' (the "soupbowl") was resited in 1889 and replaced with a copy that now is used to keep cut flowers fresh. Its inscription: FA DEL BENE E LASSA DIRE ("Do good and let them talk") suits the gossipy nature of the marketplace. In the afternoons, local games of
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
give way to set-ups for outdoor cafés. At night, Campo de' Fiori is a meeting place for tourists and young people coming from all parts of the city. After 2000, it became one of the most dangerous nighttime places of the city due to assaults and affrays by drunk tourists and soccer supporters.


References


External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Campo De' Fiori Piazzas in Rome Execution sites Rome R. VII Regola Rome R. VI Parione