The History of the Campo

 

In ancient Rome, this was a neglected and desolate area, used primarily as a stables for the racing teams for the Circus Maximus. In 1456, Pope Callixtus III had the piazza paved. In 1478 the market of the Capitol, the Market Square, was moved to Piazza Navona and the entire surrounding area, Campo de Fiori included, became an important business centre.

A restoration of the square was performed under Pope Sixtus IV in 1483, commemorated by the plaque on the south-west corner of Campo de Fiori and Via dei Balestrari. The Campo remained largely undeveloped through to the end of the 15th.C. The first church built in the area was the Church of Santa Brigida, (dedicated to Saint Bridgid of Sweden. You can pick the nuns from the convent by their black and white banded headpieces) now facing the Piazza Farnese. The Campo dei Fiori remains one of the only significant piazza in Rome that does not contain a church.

 

There was a horse market here every Saturday and Monday. Naturally, in the area were numerous hotels, taverns and inns, the most famous being the "Taverna della Vacca" (The Cow's Tavern), now the smaller of the two 'Forno' bakeries, located in the Vicolo del Gallo [north-west corner, leads west away from the 'Forno'. This forno BTW has the best selection of bread, pizza and cakes ... try one 'ungherasi' and you are hooked for life!]. The tavern was operated in the 1520's by Vannozza Caetani, the mistress of Pope Alexander VI and mother of the infamous poisoner, Lucrezia Borgia. You can still see her coat of arms on the building facade above the forno (pic below).

 

Vannozza Caetani lived in the Via del Pellegrino (Street of the Pilgrims ... leads directly away from the north corner) which in 1497 Pope Alexander VI had widened from a laneway to a street to allow easier access for pilgrims walking from St. John Lateran in the north of the city, and from across the recently built Ponte Sisto bridge over the River Tevere, connecting with the Trastevere (‘across the Tevere’) district, then onwards to St Peter's and the Vatican. A plaque on the building at the start of the street commemorates this.

 

In 1869 the market moved back to the Campo from Piazza Navona. The square was not only a market but also a place for punishment, often not capital, but for lesser crimes the offender was tied to a rope and hauled to the top of a tall pole several times, causing much hurt and even more humiliation. Various prints from the time (top) clearly show a pole for the rope. A street leading away from the Campo to the Piazza Farnese is still called Via della Corda (Rope Street).