 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Piazza della Repubblica | |
|---|---|
| City square | |
 Panorama of the Piazza. | |
| Location | Rome,Italy |
 Interactive map of Piazza della Repubblica | |
| Coordinates:41°54′09″N12°29′47″E / 41.90250°N 12.49639°E /41.90250; 12.49639 | |
Piazza della Repubblica is a circularpiazza inRome, at the summit of theViminal Hill, next to theTermini station. On it is to be foundSanta Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. It is served by theRepubblica – Teatro dell'OperaMetro station. From the square starts one of the main streets of Rome,Via Nazionale.
The former name of the piazza,Piazza dell'Esedra, still very common today, originates in the largeexedra of thebaths of Diocletian, which gives the piazza its shape.[1] The exedra present in the baths of Diocletian was incorporated into the gardens built by CardinalJean du Bellay; on his death in 1560, the land was purchased by CardinalCarlo Borromeo, and eventually came into the possession of CardinalAlessandro Sforza in 1579. Between 1598 and 1600 the exedra was converted into a church. Then, in 1885, the Via Nazionale cut through the centre of this structure.[2]
The porticos around the piazza, built in 1887–98 byGaetano Koch, were in memory of the ancient buildings on the same sites, while the basilica ofSanta Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri on the piazza is based on a wing of the baths (with its architectMichelangelo, using thetepidarium as one of the wings of its spaciousGreek cross plan).
_2.jpg)
The fountain in this square was originally the fountain of theAcqua Pia (connected to theaqua Marciaaqueduct), commissioned this site byPope Pius IX in 1870. Completed in 1888, it originally showed four plaster lions designed byAlessandro Guerrieri. These were then replaced in 1901 withsculptures ofNaiads byMario Rutelli[3] fromPalermo, the great-grandfather of the politician and former mayor of Rome,Francesco Rutelli.[4]
The naiads represented are the Nymph of the Lakes (recognisable by the swan she holds), the Nymph of the Rivers (stretched out on a monster of the rivers), the Nymph of the Oceans (riding a horse symbolising of the sea), and the Nymph of the Underground Waters (leaning over a mysterious dragon). In the centre is Rutelli'sGlauco group (1911/12), symbolizing the dominion of the man over natural force and replacing a previous sculpture.
Media related toPiazza della Repubblica (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Piazza della Minerva | Landmarks of Rome Piazza della Repubblica, Rome | Succeeded by Piazza Farnese |
