Piazza della Minerva

Piazza della Minerva
Piazza della Minerva
City square
	Piazza della Minerva towards the Pantheon
Location	Rome, Italy
	; Click on the map for a fullscreen view
	Coordinates: 41°53′53″N 12°28′39″E / 41.89806°N 12.47750°E

Piazza della Minerva is a

piazza in Rome, Italy, near the Pantheon. Its name derives from the existence of a temple built on the site by Pompey dedicated to Minerva Calcidica, whose statue is now in the Vatican Museums

Features

River Tiber

between 1422 and 1598

Facing this piazza are:

the church of
River Tiber
between 1422 and 1598 - the area of the piazza is the lowest in Rome, and so was always the first to suffer in flooding.
A convent (or casa professa) of the
church of San Macuto, in the space formerly occupied by three Roman temples - the aforementioned Minervium, the Iseum, and the Serapeum
.

From the 17th century, the convent became the base of the

At the centre of the piazza, backing onto the Inquisition convent, is the 1667 Elephant and Obelisk by Bernini. This obelisk was excavated in the cloister and came from the Iseum.^[1] The elephant was known as "il pulcin della Minerva", or "porcino", from the Roman people's story that ― uninspired by elephants ― Bernini in fact sculpted a pig.
To the right of the church stands the 16th century Palazzo Fonseca, since 1832 the site of one of the historic hotels of Rome, known as the Minerva, whose guests have included Stendhal and José de San Martín, remembered in plaques on the facade.
Opposite the church is the Palazzo dell'accademia ecclesiastica (the former Accademia dei nobili ecclesiastici), 14th century in origin but completely rebuilt in 1878. It is an academy that trains the diplomats of Vatican City.

^ "Piazza della Minerva". Turismo Roma. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

Preceded by Piazza del Popolo	Landmarks of Rome Piazza della Minerva	Succeeded by Piazza della Repubblica, Rome