Piazza del Popolo - Rome, Italy - Gateway to the Historic Tridente

The southern side of Piazza del Popolo opens toward Rome's historic Tridente, where Via del Corso begins its long route through the heart of the city.

The southern side of Piazza del Popolo marks the entrance to Rome's historic Tridente, with Via del Corso extending into the city from the square. Elegant façades, pedestrians and modern city life fill this view at the point where one of Rome's grandest monumental spaces meets the streets of its historic center. Piazza del Popolo developed around Rome's traditional northern entrance, where travellers arriving along the Via Flaminia entered through Porta del Popolo. At the opposite side of the square, Via del Corso, Via del Babuino and Via di Ripetta spread southward to form the famous three-pronged street plan known as the Tridente. The piazza contains the ancient Egyptian Flaminio Obelisk, positioned here by order of Pope Sixtus V in 1589, while the two Baroque churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli frame the beginning of the Tridente. The spacious elliptical form seen today owes much to Giuseppe Valadier's major redesign during the early 19th century.