Piazza di Porta Capena

Piazza di Porta Capena is a vast flat area among the offshoots of the Caelian, the Palatine and the Aventine hills. It owes its name to the ancient door that lead to the Via Appia. Opposite the square is the big modern building, seat of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Post Office, planned as seat of the Ministero dell’Africa Italiana by Vittorio Cafiero and inaugurated in 1951. From the square you can see the Circus Maximus with its few ruins and the Torre della Moletta. In the middle of the square was the obelisk of Axum dating back to the IV century BC, brought to Rome from Etiopia in 1937. Between the Caelian and the Aventine hills is the Parco di Porta Capena, aka Passeggiata Archeologica, realized in 1911 on the initiative of Guido Baccelli. Today is one of the favourite places by Romans to practice outdoor pursuits.