Piazza Colonna is a piazza

Piazza

A piazza is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza...

 at the center of the Rione of Colonna

Colonna (rione of Rome)

Colonna is the III rione of Rome. Its logo is a silver column on a red background.-External links:*...

 in the historic heart of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius

Column of Marcus Aurelius

The Column of Marcus Aurelius is a Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. It is a Doric column featuring a spiral relief: it was built in honour of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled on Trajan's Column.- Construction :...

 which has stood there since 193 CE. The bronze statue of Saint Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

 that crowns the column was placed in 1589, by order of Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...

. The Roman Via Lata (now the Via del Corso

Via del Corso

The Via del Corso , commonly known as the Corso, is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is remarkable for being absolutely straight in an area characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas...

) runs through the piazza's eastern end, from south to north.

Overview

The piazza is rectangular. Its north side is taken up by Palazzo Chigi

Palazzo Chigi

The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. It was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini family. In 1659 it was purchased by the Chigi family. It was then remodelled by...

, formerly the Austro-Hungarian empire's embassy, but is now a seat of the Italian government. The east side is taken up by the 19th century public shopping arcade Galleria Colonna (still 2003 Galleria Alberto Sordi

Alberto Sordi

Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian actor. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....

), the south side is taken up by the flank of Palazzo Ferraioli, formerly the Papal post office, and the little Church of Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi

Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi

Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi is a little church in Piazza Colonna in Rome, Italy, next to Palazzo Wedekind. Originally it was named Santa Maria della Pietà, from the high relief over the door...

 (1731-35). The west side is taken up by Palazzo Wedekind

Palazzo Wedekind

Palazzo Wedekind is a palazzo in Piazza Colonna in Rome, Italy, located next to the church of Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi. It is notable as the historic offices of the daily paper Il Tempo....

 (1838) with a colonnade of Roman columns taken from Veii

Veii

Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in Isola Farnese, a village of Municipio XX, an administrative subdivision of the comune of Rome in the Province of Rome...

.

The piazza has been a monumental open space since Antiquity; the temple of Marcus Aurelius stood on the site of Palazzo Wedekind

Palazzo Wedekind

Palazzo Wedekind is a palazzo in Piazza Colonna in Rome, Italy, located next to the church of Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi. It is notable as the historic offices of the daily paper Il Tempo....

. (TCI)

The fountain in the Piazza (1577) was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted civil calendar to this date.-Youth:He was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and wife Angela...

 from Giacomo Della Porta

Giacomo della Porta

Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...

 who was assisted by Rocco De Rossi. In 1830 it was restored, and had two sets of dolphin

Dolphin

Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...

s, with tails entwined, sculpted by Achille Stocchi

Achille Stocchi

Achille Stocchi was an Italian sculptor who worked in Rome in the mid-nineteenth century.His father was Amadeo Stocchi, a sculptor in the studio of Antonio Canova, who began well by winning a prize from the Accademia di San Luca but vanished in obscurity.In Giuseppe Valadier's systemization of...

, set at either end of the long basin. The central sculpture was then substituted with a smaller sculpture and spray.