Campo di Fiori - Day market, night market

Campo di Fiori in Rome translates to ‘field of flowers’ and that is exactly what it was, a meadow, up until the mIddle ages. This now ancient square hosts an open air farmers market in the morning, playtime and strolling in the afternoon, then fills with cafe seating at night when there is also a night market. I love the flexibility of the space and how its many uses change over the course of a day. Many activities take place here (outdoor movies, town gossip), the square is lined with specialty shops and surrounding streets are named after hatmakers, tailors, keymakers, crossbowmakers indicating it was a market district full of producers and sellers. And sadly, the market was also used for public executions, including the burning alive of writer Giordano Bruno, for heresy in 1600. His statue now stands on the spot where he was executed, defiantly facing the Vatican which declared his works forbidden.