Piazza del Campidoglio

Rome, Italy

Submitted by: aleksandar janicijevic

This intimate space overlooking the Forum is one of the world's premier public squares.

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Why It Works

This is a relatively small public square, for pedestrians only, on an ancient spot. It's the only square on the world where all the surrounding buldings are designed by one person: Michelangelo.

What Makes Piazza del Campidoglio a Great Place?

Not to many people are using it, as it is secluded, up on top of a steep hill. This gives it a pleasant atmosphere, ideal for contemplation!

The best.

This is a public gathering place and provides access to couple of art museums.

It is an extremly human space, designed having in mind human (pedestrian) proportions.

History & Background

This is by far the best existing public square today. My passion is the many thousand public spaces that I have visited in over 150 countries in my life, from all over the world.

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User Comments:

03/07/02 City of Washougal said:
It is truly an elegant space. I was overwelmed to walk into it...so much so that I hugged the perimeter along the buildings and didn't walk into the middle.
04/29/02 Ben Fried said:
It is hard to argue with the Campidoglio's stature as one of the most renowned public squares in the world, given its stately architecture and perfect proportions. But I feel ambiguous towards its place on this website. It is frequented almost entirely by tourists, and they use it for the most part as an object to be gazed at, like an outdoor museum installation. It may not be in ruins, but nominating the Campidoglio is almost like nominating the Forum, or perhaps more appropriately, the Basilica of St. Peter. There are countless other historic piazzas in Rome, by contrast, that manage to be lively and inviting places as well.

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