 This
piazza is popular both with the locals and the tourists. It is filled
with cafes, restaurants and bars and is a favourite spot for lunch
especially. There are no palaces no churches no churches and yet
this piazza is always filled with people since it definitely is
a people’s piazza with its liveliness and immense charm. Every
morning there is a fruit and vegetable market. This is considered
as one of the best of its kind in entire Rome.
There is a statue of Giordano Bruno at the center of the piazza.
He was a philosopher who was burnt at the stake. He was denounced
as a heretic. This statue also stands as a memorial to all the other
philosophers who were persecuted for their views. This statue was
erected in 1889. His statue stands at the very spot he was burnt.
All public executions in the middle ages took place in this piazza.
 There
was a low fountain called the La Terrina (the tureen), which was
at the center of the square. It was shifted to Piazza della Chiesa
Nuova. A similar fountain at the end of the square has replaced
it.
Campo di’ Fiori is indeed a remarkable place as it accommodates
all expected and unexpected events. It is multi functional and serves
not only as a market place but also a place for seeing, buying,
selling and displaying goods. It is also an area for public performances.
It functions in the evenings as a football field and at night it
is a romantic rendezvous for young couples.
 Campo
di Fiori has evolved through the ages. In antiquity it was an irregular
field more like leftover space. It was a relatively flat area located
directly around the west end of the temple of Venus and near the
theatre of Pompeii. Since it was located at an intersection of streets
and was close to both the Tiber River and the Pompeii it may have
served the function of being a market place as well as a place where
the people congregated.
 In
the Middle Ages it was in a state of neglect. It became an abandoned
field of grass. However in the thirteenth century the Orsini family
purchased property along the southern side of the field. This lead
to the appearance of houses, eateries, warehouses, shops etc which,
added life to the abandoned field. By 1450 a rival of the Orsini
family, Count Everso dell’ Anguillara also bought houses in
the area. This lead to the purchase of land around the Campo di’
Fiori by other noble families and a spurt in the overall development
of the area. In 1456 Ludovico cardinal Trevisan ordered the field
to be paved as he realized the significance of the rapidly growing
area. This was when the rectangular shape of the area was clearly
defined.
 By
the fifteenth century the Campo became one of the most frequented
areas of the city. Most of the important visitors to Rome visited
this piazza, as it had become an important social centre of the
city. Two important streets were opened by Pope Sisto IV to link
the Campo di Fiori- the Via Florae and the Via Pelligrino. There
is an inscription commemorating the opening of these streets on
the corner of a building at the intersection of Via Balestrari and
Via Guibbonari.
As it gained in importance as a public square it became the place
where Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake on February 17, 1600.
It then became a common place for public punishment.
 The
walls of the buildings facing the Campo were used to present papal
and other official communication. The Jubilee Edict of 1500 was
posted here. So was the one in 1739 condemning those engaged in
wicked acts committed during the Night of St. John. The last papal
edict was posted in 1860. It excommunicated those who rebelled against
the Pope.
During the nineteenth century the Campo became a marketplace and
center for the sale of grain, produce and animal food. In 1859 it
was enlarged and a flower market was added. In 1888 the statue of
Bruno was added to the square as a symbol of free speech and independence.
 By
the beginning of the twentieth century up to date the Campo has
remained somewhat the same. It is a rectangular space 330 feet long
and 150 feet wide. It has a broad paving of basalt and is surrounded
by shops, a cinema, restaurants and bars. It has four fountains
one each on its four sides.
Campo di’ Fiori is popular through the day and night. It
is frequented by fruit and vegetable vendors in the day while its
international style pubs attract a different crowd in the evenings.
It also serves as an area for performances in the evening as well
as a loitering spot for the young at night. It is also a setting
place for Saturday carnivals. It is indeed a people’s square
in all senses.
|
