Piazza Navona rock and decapitating some of the larger and smaller figures, after they recognised him by his sneakers. Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans went there to watch the "agones" ("games"), and hence it was known as ""Circus Agonalis"" ("competition arena"). It is believed that over time the name changed to "in avone" to "navone" and eventually to "navona". Defined as a public space in
Sant'Agnese in Agone set one urban block away from the piazza, to the Piazza Navona, a large urban space that Innocent was transforming into a showcase associated with his family. It had been the intention to build the new church over the old church which would become the crypt; this meant the new church was to be raised well above piazza level, but this idea was abandoned once construction started. The original drawings are lost but it is thought that the Piazza Navona facade design included a narthex between two towers and broad stairs descending to the piazza. Harsh criticism was made of