Campo de' Fiori

Campo dei Fiori
Campo dei Fiori
City square
	The daily market with the statue of Giordano Bruno in the background
Location	Rome, Italy
	; Click on the map for a fullscreen view
	Coordinates: 41°53′45″N 12°28′19″E / 41.8957°N 12.472°E

Campo de' Fiori (Italian:

flowers". The name dates to the Middle Ages when the area was a meadow

.

History

In

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

The monument to the philosopher Giordano Bruno at the centre of the square

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 (

Alexander VI

Borgia, whose family seal is still on display on the house facade.

Executions

statue of Giordano Bruno

Executions used to be held publicly in Campo de' Fiori. Here, on 17 February 1600, the philosopher

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.^[1]

In addition to people, the Holy Office burned the Talmud in Campo de' Fiori; the book burning took place on September 9, 1553, the first day of the Jewish new year holiday, Rosh Hashanah.^[2] 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).^[2] 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

give way to set-ups for outdoor cafés.

At night, Campo de' Fiori is a meeting place for tourists and young people coming from the whole city. In the years 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.^[3]^[4]