Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II

Lonely Planet review

Rome's biggest square (Piazza San Pietro is in the Vatican and so doesn't count as Rome), Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II was laid out in the late 19th century, shortly after Italian unification. Originally an upmarket residential district, it's now the noisy centre of Rome's most multiethnic district.

To most Romans, the piazza is synonymous with the boisterous food market that used to stand here. The market has since moved indoors to nearby Via Lamarmora, but the surrounding streets are still the best place to find exotic spices and takeaway curry. Within the fenced-off central section of the square are the ruins of the Trofei di Mario, once a fountain at the end of an aqueduct.

In the northern corner of the square is the locked-up Chiesa di Sant'Eusebio, which was founded in the 4th century and rebuilt twice in the 18th. Each year, animals are blessed here on St Anthony's feast day (17 January).

The square itself hosts cultural festivals throughout the year and an outdoor film festival in the summer.