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Piazza del Popolo: There are two
identical churches and an obelisk. Piazza del Popolo, the
apex of the
so-called trident because from here originate three long
and straight streets: via del Babuino, where are many antiques
shops, which leads to Piazza di Spagna (flanked by via Margutta,
a street famous for its painters ); via di Ripetta and the
very busy Via del Corso ( Sthendal defined it as the most
beautiful of the world).
Through the Porta del Popolo with its
triumphal arch opening into the Aurelian walls, you enter
the square, one of the most suggestive entrance of Rome.Pope
Sixtus V in 1589 had the obelisk erected at the centre.
It is almost 24 meters high and it was brought to
Rome at the time of Augustus in celebration of the victory
over Egypt. A century later Pope Alexander VII commissioned
Rainaldi to build the church of Santa Maria di Montesanto
and Santa Maria dei Miracoli.
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