Thursday, September 17, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Trastavere
Some other successful piazzas are those like the Piazza Trilussa and the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastavere.
The Piazza Trilussa is the only piazza that connects directly to the street running along the Tiber, and it also connects directly to a bridge linking to the other side of the river and leading to Campo di Fiori, and it creates a wecoming space to enter Trastavere for people crossing from the eastern side of the city. The space has a good amount of commercial space and while many cars are parked there, moving traffic is light and there are plenty of places to stop and look in in the piazza and along Via del Moro, a small, winding street leading out of the piazza.
The streets eventually lead one from the Tiber to Piazza Santa Maria in Trastavere, another successful piazza, centered around a fountain in its center and a church covered in gold leaf. This piazza also has plenty of commercial spaces, restaurants with outdoor seating that soften the edges of the piazza while still allowing it to feel like a discrete, defined space. A small network of other piazzas make the space seem more connected as a neighborhood, as all these spaces flow into one another and are fairly close. The small, bending streets keep the area feeling small in scale, as one can never see too far ahead, and the buildings in Trastavere are smaller than in most of the rest of the city; generally no more than three or four stories.
The Piazza Trilussa is the only piazza that connects directly to the street running along the Tiber, and it also connects directly to a bridge linking to the other side of the river and leading to Campo di Fiori, and it creates a wecoming space to enter Trastavere for people crossing from the eastern side of the city. The space has a good amount of commercial space and while many cars are parked there, moving traffic is light and there are plenty of places to stop and look in in the piazza and along Via del Moro, a small, winding street leading out of the piazza.
The streets eventually lead one from the Tiber to Piazza Santa Maria in Trastavere, another successful piazza, centered around a fountain in its center and a church covered in gold leaf. This piazza also has plenty of commercial spaces, restaurants with outdoor seating that soften the edges of the piazza while still allowing it to feel like a discrete, defined space. A small network of other piazzas make the space seem more connected as a neighborhood, as all these spaces flow into one another and are fairly close. The small, bending streets keep the area feeling small in scale, as one can never see too far ahead, and the buildings in Trastavere are smaller than in most of the rest of the city; generally no more than three or four stories.
Vatican City
Other successful piazzas are those like the Piazza San Pietro, and less successful are those like the Piazza del Risorgimento and the Piazza Cola di Rienzo.
The Piazza San Pietro obviously benefits from the grandiosity of the basilica façade by Maderno, although it largely blocks the view of the dome, and Bernini’s colonnade, which reduce the apparent size of the open square, and by the high foot traffic that keep the space from feeling barren. I prefer large open spaces to have abundant green space, since vast paving tends to collect heat and feel desolate to me, but since shade is available under the colonnade and the space is well filled, it isn’t such a problem for San Pietro. The Via della Conciliazione creates a dramatic approach to the square. There is no car traffic through the square itself, although around the square it can be difficult to cut through with the amount of cars that pass.
Piazza del Risorgimento, like many other piazzas in Rome, seems to put too much emphasis on throughput for cars and not enough on comfortable places to stop and sit as someone on foot. Scattered cafés and gelaterias around the edge of the piazza notwithstanding, nowhere in the center in the piazza is terribly hospitable, and so the piazza essentially becomes a large space dedicated to a bus stop rather than a true urban gathering space. This central space is also difficult to reach from the periphery, being blocked by a wide road used by fast-moving cars. The Piazza Cola di Rienzo, meanwhile, has the opposite issue as the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele II and Piazza del Risorgimento, which are cut off from their surroundings by wide roads. The piazza is essentially a block of stepped-back buildings with two thickened sidewalks with outdoor café seating, so while it is much more accessible than other piazzas, it ends up not feeling like a piazza at all. It may be a more pleasant and useful condition than proper piazzas that end up not being used, but it doesn’t have the same sense of place and definition.
The Piazza San Pietro obviously benefits from the grandiosity of the basilica façade by Maderno, although it largely blocks the view of the dome, and Bernini’s colonnade, which reduce the apparent size of the open square, and by the high foot traffic that keep the space from feeling barren. I prefer large open spaces to have abundant green space, since vast paving tends to collect heat and feel desolate to me, but since shade is available under the colonnade and the space is well filled, it isn’t such a problem for San Pietro. The Via della Conciliazione creates a dramatic approach to the square. There is no car traffic through the square itself, although around the square it can be difficult to cut through with the amount of cars that pass.
Piazza del Risorgimento, like many other piazzas in Rome, seems to put too much emphasis on throughput for cars and not enough on comfortable places to stop and sit as someone on foot. Scattered cafés and gelaterias around the edge of the piazza notwithstanding, nowhere in the center in the piazza is terribly hospitable, and so the piazza essentially becomes a large space dedicated to a bus stop rather than a true urban gathering space. This central space is also difficult to reach from the periphery, being blocked by a wide road used by fast-moving cars. The Piazza Cola di Rienzo, meanwhile, has the opposite issue as the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele II and Piazza del Risorgimento, which are cut off from their surroundings by wide roads. The piazza is essentially a block of stepped-back buildings with two thickened sidewalks with outdoor café seating, so while it is much more accessible than other piazzas, it ends up not feeling like a piazza at all. It may be a more pleasant and useful condition than proper piazzas that end up not being used, but it doesn’t have the same sense of place and definition.
Esquilino
Some other less successful piazzas are the Piazza Venezia, the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele and the Piazza Termini.
The Piazza Venezia is organized around three sides of commercial buildings with pedestrian sidewalks and a ring of car traffic with a monument to Vittorio Emmanuele on the fourth side. In the center, inside the ring of traffic, is a grassy mound cut through with a crosswalk that connects two sides of the piazza. The piazza is difficult to navigate as a pedestrian, as cars drive quite quickly through and the streets are wide. The grassy mound in the center of the piazza is unoccupied except for people crossing, and the piazza has a strong focus in the monument but the monument itself is fenced off and isn’t accessible.
The Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele similarly places too much emphasis on car traffic at the expense of walking. The only friendly place for walkers is the ring of porticos that border the piazza, otherwise the center, an overlarge and mostly undivided green space is divided from sidewalks by busy streets, tram lines, and a fence that only allows for two points of access. The space is not used nearly as much as it could be, and it seems it could be fairly easily addressed by continuing the street through the park and pushing the green space of the piazza to the porticos.
The Piazza Termini, like the other two piazzas, suffers from an emphasis on the buses and taxis that pass through. For one coming out of the station and trying to walk to somewhere else or trying to find a bus, the space seems chaotic and disorganized. There is some green space, but nowhere could you stop and sit while waiting for a train or a bus unless you went to a café in a nearby building.
The Piazza Venezia is organized around three sides of commercial buildings with pedestrian sidewalks and a ring of car traffic with a monument to Vittorio Emmanuele on the fourth side. In the center, inside the ring of traffic, is a grassy mound cut through with a crosswalk that connects two sides of the piazza. The piazza is difficult to navigate as a pedestrian, as cars drive quite quickly through and the streets are wide. The grassy mound in the center of the piazza is unoccupied except for people crossing, and the piazza has a strong focus in the monument but the monument itself is fenced off and isn’t accessible.
The Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele similarly places too much emphasis on car traffic at the expense of walking. The only friendly place for walkers is the ring of porticos that border the piazza, otherwise the center, an overlarge and mostly undivided green space is divided from sidewalks by busy streets, tram lines, and a fence that only allows for two points of access. The space is not used nearly as much as it could be, and it seems it could be fairly easily addressed by continuing the street through the park and pushing the green space of the piazza to the porticos.
The Piazza Termini, like the other two piazzas, suffers from an emphasis on the buses and taxis that pass through. For one coming out of the station and trying to walk to somewhere else or trying to find a bus, the space seems chaotic and disorganized. There is some green space, but nowhere could you stop and sit while waiting for a train or a bus unless you went to a café in a nearby building.
Historic Center
In studying various piazzas in Rome it becomes clear that some are more successful than others. Certain factors contribute to some being more comfortable or easy to navigate, inhabit and use. Among the most successful are the Piazza della Rotonda and the Piazza del Popolo, and among the least are the Piazza di Trevi and Campo di Fiori.
The most successful piazzas balance size with traffic and management of the people and cars that pass through. Parts of the reasons for their success is that the Piazza della Rotonda and the Piazza del Popolo segregate car and pedestrian traffic, so that neither obstructs the other and as a pedestrian one doesn’t feel endangered by passing automobiles. This is also true of the Piazza Navona. These piazzas are also well-defined; the Piazza della Rotonda is framed by surrounding buildings that are fairly dense, and there is a clear focus on the Pantheon as the piazza’s reason for being. The Piazza del Popolo is bound by walls on three sides with the medieval gate and two walls, and the gate, obelisk, Via del Corso and Palazzo Venezia form a strong axial relationship. These piazzas are also well-sized for the amount of traffic that passes through them, so they don’t feel too constrained.
Conversely, the Piazza di Trevi and Campo di Fiore do not segregate car and pedestrian traffic, and create a sensation of constant peril for the many people passing through on foot. The Piazza di Trevi especially is occupied in large part by the fountain itself, leaving little room for the people gathered there and passing car traffic. The Campo di Fiori is bisected by a street used by cars and cars are free to pass through the piazza in any manner they wish, so as a pedestrian one has the sensation of cars all around that may move at any time.
The most successful piazzas balance size with traffic and management of the people and cars that pass through. Parts of the reasons for their success is that the Piazza della Rotonda and the Piazza del Popolo segregate car and pedestrian traffic, so that neither obstructs the other and as a pedestrian one doesn’t feel endangered by passing automobiles. This is also true of the Piazza Navona. These piazzas are also well-defined; the Piazza della Rotonda is framed by surrounding buildings that are fairly dense, and there is a clear focus on the Pantheon as the piazza’s reason for being. The Piazza del Popolo is bound by walls on three sides with the medieval gate and two walls, and the gate, obelisk, Via del Corso and Palazzo Venezia form a strong axial relationship. These piazzas are also well-sized for the amount of traffic that passes through them, so they don’t feel too constrained.
Conversely, the Piazza di Trevi and Campo di Fiore do not segregate car and pedestrian traffic, and create a sensation of constant peril for the many people passing through on foot. The Piazza di Trevi especially is occupied in large part by the fountain itself, leaving little room for the people gathered there and passing car traffic. The Campo di Fiori is bisected by a street used by cars and cars are free to pass through the piazza in any manner they wish, so as a pedestrian one has the sensation of cars all around that may move at any time.
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