Bolger Family Travels: Plaza Of The People

For centuries, Piazza del Popolo was THE northern entrance into Rome. So, if you were a pilgrim from France or other points north, your first interaction with Rome was entering the gate and into the the Plaza of the People, as the name means.

After a late lunch, the women decided they wanted to do some shopping. The men decided emphatically they did NOT want to do some shopping. So we went our separate ways and meet at 4pm at the Borghese Galleria.

Van and I took a very scenic route from our lunch place (I don't remember the name of it, and there is no reason to remember, other than it was pleasant enough) to Piazza del Popolo.

We climbed a long set of stairs, only to turn left and head down hill. We went past many neat shops, many of which were already decorated for Christmas. If you think there's Christmas creep (early onset of Christmas) in the U.S., since there is not Thanksgiving in Europe, the Christmas push comes on sooner in Europe than it even does in the U.S.

("Christmas creep" was termed by Gregg Easterbrook, who does nothing but write fascinating columns, now on Substack. On Fridays he sends out his insightful column du jour, whether its space, defense spending, various political "leaders," and more, on while on Tuesdays during the NFL he does his fabulous "TMQ: Tuesday Morning Quarterback." When it comes to politics and policy, Gregg is one-third conservative, one-third moderate, one-third liberal, and 100% interesting and thoughtful. Give his writing a shot.)

(Editor: Glen -- one third plus one-third plus one-third plus 100% is 200%. Writer: See, he must be good!)

After a few right and left turns, we came to the top of the Spanish steps. Van had only seen them from the bottom. We headed down Via del Babuino past more shops and churches, heading for the obelisk at the Piazza del Popolo.

I had never been to this Piazza, and it's definitely worth a visit. The aforementioned obelisk was originally built around 1300 BC to Ramses II and brought from Egypt to Rome by Caesar Augustus. It stood in the Circus Maximus (chariot race grounds, imagine daily races at Daytona) until it was moved to the piazza in 1589 after rediscovery in 1537.

The obelisk also features four lion statues spitting water out of their mouths. Seeing live lions in Africa is exceedingly cool, while lion statues are just a few notches below.

Looking back south, there are twin domed churches built in-between main boulevards that exit the square.

The eastern most boulevard is the aforementioned Via del Babuino while the middle one is Via del Corso (named after a former football coach who now a commentator on ESPN's College Football Game Day). Befitting an American sports legend, Via del Corso heads eventually to the Victor Emmanuel Monument, while passing many main Roman sights.

The western most road is Via di Ripetta and heads in the direction of the Vatican.

Also on the piazza is the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo ("Saint Mary of the People," which means she had an excellent publicist). Alas, by the time we got there it was closed, so we missed art by Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio, and Pinturicchio, among others. I'll just have to go back to Rome!

There are also two large fountains on either side of the square, but alas neither were working at the time.