Rome, Piazza Venezia

(2 photos)
Piazza Venezia is very likely the busiest traffic point in Rome. Along with cars trying to go in every direction, the Piazza is often crowded with orange city buses. The building on the left is the Palazzo Venezia, a palace built by Pope Paul II, that was the office used by Mussolini. Above the door, half way up the side of the wall facing Piazza Venezia, is where Mussolini stood on his little balcony to make his speeches. The 1930s and 1940s newsreels of Mussolini, show this building and this balcony.

To the left, and just out of the picture, is the ostentatious immensity of the marble monument to Victor Emmanuel II, and a little more to the left, is the staircase that leads to Rome’s City Hall.

The street to the right, between the two buildings, is Rome’s Main Street, Via Del Corso, that leads from Piazza Venezia to Piazza del Popolo. Via Del Corso is lined with offices, banks and stores, and just a short stroll to the left or the right brings the traveler to the Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Colonna with the Column of Marcus Aurélius, Piazza di Spagna with the Spanish Steps, the main Post Office, shopping streets galore, and churches and monuments with a frequency found only in Rome.
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This is a photo taken from the entrance to Via Del Corso, on the opposite side of Piazza Venezia from where the top picture was taken. That huge building with two spires, is the monument to Victor Emmanuel II.