Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, also known as Piazza Vittorio, 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...

 in 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...

, in the Esquilino

Esquilino (rione of Rome)

Esquilino is the XV rione, that is historic district, of the city. Its coat of arms bears two figures: a tree and three green mountains, all on a silver background. It is named for the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome....

 rione

Rione

Rione is the name given to a ward in several Italian cities, the best-known of which is Rome. Unlike a quartiere, a rione is usually an official administrative subdivision...

. It is served by the Vittorio Emanuele Metro

Rome Metro

The Rome Metro is an underground public transportation system that operates in Rome, Italy and opened in 1955. There are currently two metro lines, the A line and the B line . A third line, the green C line, and a new branch of the B line, are currently under construction. Plans have also been...

 station.

Surrounded by palazzi with large porticoes in the 19th century style, the piazza was built by Gaetano Koch

Gaetano Koch

Gaetano Koch was an Italian architect.He made his name above all with several major works in Rome - Palazzo Koch, seat of the Banca d'Italia, and the two porticoed palazzi which form Piazza della Repubblica, and the central Piazza Vittorio.His mark can also be seen in Rome's Palazzo Mengarini and...

 shortly after the unification of Italy. Umbertine in style, it is the largest piazza in Rome (316 x 174 metres). In the centre of the piazza is a garden with the remains of a fountain built by Alexander Severus

Alexander Severus

Severus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty...

, and the so-called "Porta Magica" (Magic Gate) or "Porta Alchemica

Porta Alchemica

Porta Alchemica , or Alchemy Gate or Magic Portal, is a monument built between 1678 and 1680 by Massimiliano Palombara marquis of Pietraforte in his residence, Palombara villa, located in the east of Rome on the Esquilino hill in a position almost corresponding to Piazza Vittorio, where today was...

" (Alchemist's Door), the entrance to Villa Palombara, residence of the alchemist

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

 Massimiliano II Palombara.

Cultural References

In Vittorio De Sica

Vittorio de Sica

Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....

's Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves , also known as The Bicycle Thief, is a 1948 Italian neorealist film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of a poor man searching the streets of Rome for his stolen bicycle, which he needs to be able to work. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Luigi...

 (Ladri di biciclette), it was in Piazza Vittorio that the protagonist Antonio Ricci and his young son Bruno seek desperately to recover his stolen bicycle, but realise the futility of their task as the vast square is filled with countless bicycles and bicycle parts that resemble his own.

See also

List of city squares by size