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 of this church is unrelated to the ‘agony’ of the martyr: "in agone" was the ancient name of Piazza Navona ("piazza in agone"), and meant instead, from the Greek, ‘in the site of the competitions’, because Piazza Navona was built on the form of an ancient Roman stadium on the Greek model, with one flat end, and was used for footraces. From ‘in agone’, the popular use and pronunciation changed the name into ‘Navona’, but other roads in the area kept the original name. Bernini's "Fountain of the Four Rivers" is situated in front of the church. It is often