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La Piazza di Santa Maria |
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written
by Paul Maupoux / 07.12.2004 |
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Location |
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The Piazza Santa Maria is right in the center of Trastevere. Coming down into Trastevere from the Ponte Garibaldi, you take a right a block after the bridge on the Via della Lungaretta. You follow that street for three or four blocks until the Piazza opens up to you.
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Description |
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We walked through the Piazza on one of our first walking tours, when we went to see the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. However, to do it justice, the piazza really must be viewed at night, between 11:00 pm and 3:00 am. Every night, it is full of people, and there are always vendors and musicians out. And unlike at the Campo, the musicians actually know more than one song.
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Story of Discovery |
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I first encountered the Piazza di Santa Maria on my first night in Rome, on the 27th of August. I came across it while wandering through Trastevere and enjoyed the music and crowd. When I returned to the Piazza two days later with the class, I didn't even recognize it, because it was just so bare and empty. It was only later that I realized that the piazza I'd seen at night and the piazza I'd seen in class were the same.
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Element of Interest |
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The best part of the Piazza di Santa Maria is the big fountain that sits in the middle. That fountain is where everyone gathers at night. Sitting on the steps around it, a young Roman named Andrea asked me what I was writing in my journal. That led into an enjoyable conversation, mostly in English, but with my occasional attempt at Italian, about what each of us were studying. He told me about his studies to become a surgeon, and how his father used to be the head editor of one of the major Roman newspapers. We also had an interesting conversation about Iraq and what people thought of it in the U.S. and in Italy. I advise anyone who goes to visit the Piazza to go sit on the steps of the fountain. If your Italian is too shaky for you to be the one to initiate a conversation with someone, someone else will initiate one for you.
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Image |
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The location is a large rectangle. In one corner is the church of Santa Maria, in the other corner are some restaurants and gelaterias. There are at least five alleys that feed into the piazza from all sides. In the middle is the large fountain, the social center of the Piazza at night.
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