Are you in Rome? Would you like to know what to do and where to eat in Piazza Farnese?
Piazza Farnese: a little bit of history
The story of this square begins in the XVI century, when the cardinal Alessandro Farnese bought a lot of houses to demolish them, in order to create the right space to build the palace he made Antonio da Sangallo to project. The palace was finished in 1546 by Michelangelo, and today Palazzo Farnese is famous to be the French Embassy. This is one of the most important and central square of the district, because here join 8 of the biggest and most important streets. Right on the square, the most famous buildings, more than Palazzo Farnese, are the church of Santa Brigida and the two twins fountains, built in 1466, they were the firsts purely ornamental fountains of Rome, since the area wasn’t sufficiently served by the aqueducts.
When to go
My suggestion is to come to visit this wonderful square when you can visit even Palazzo Farnese; since today it’s the French Embassy, the palace is not opened to visitors every day, but they organize some tours, usually on Monday Wednesday and Friday afternoon, but since they might change, you should better look on the website and book the tour some days before.
What to eat
If you’re visiting the square during the morning, you should totally go see the market in Campo de’ Fiori and taste some of the best vegetables and fruit we buy every day and that you can find here.
If it’s afternoon or evening, you can have a wonderful aperitivo (happy hour) or dinner in one of the various restaurants of the district.
Where to eat in Piazza Farnese
If you’re walking around in the morning, stop at the market in Campo de’ Fiori and taste a sample of our best seasonal fruit or vegetables. Remember that in Rome you don’t need to buy water all the time. If you have an empty bottle you can always refill it at the Nasone, the small fountains with fresh running water.
If you want to have dinner, you can’t leave this area without a taste of the best pasta carbonara of Rome at La Carbonara (Piazza Campo de’ Fiori).
Don’t miss one of the best gelato of Rome at Punto Gelato (Via dei Pettinari 43), where the strange recipes invented by the Chef and owner Günther, will make you fall in love with Italian gelato and will make you understand the differences between gelato and ice cream.
How to reach it
Since it’s quite a central area, it’s very simple to reach it. You can easily arrive here with all the buses that stop in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, like the 40 and the 64, and then walk for like 400 meters.
If you’re walking around and you find yourself in Piazza Navona or close to the area, you just need to walk a bit and to cross Campo de’ Fiori and you will get right into Piazza Farnese.
