One day years ago, when we were with our children and a group of architecture students,  our children and I were in Piazza Novona just for a walk, when we saw cameras, scaffolding and crowds of people at one end of the piazza. With more careful inspection we saw Chevy Chase, a well known actor in the States….comedian really.  We rushed back to tell David and the students to “come quickly!’  That was our first experience about the tedium and slowness of filming …..getting everything as right as possible. We were hoping that we could have been in a crowd scene but that didn’t happen. After about an hour, we lost interest and left.  The scenes shot in Navona were cut and scenes shot at the Spanish Steps and the Colosseum were included in the Roman part of the European Vacation.

Another memory I have about Navona, is walking with David when  he overhears and recognizes that  priests were  talking in Latin. Well, I just would tune out  all these languages that were non-understandable for me. I try not to be the ugly American  but English is the international language now, right?  Of course , the irony is that we both took Latin, a dead language, in High School because we were going to college.  Latin and Italian are quite similar but David could tell the difference  or at least he said he did. . . . . On one of my trips a friend visited Rome for the first time. She had had years and years of Latin and enjoyed reading the inscriptions on ancient cornices written in Latin and of course Roman numerals.

Piazza Navona is a gathering place day and night.  There are wonderful cafes where you can sit and enjoy the sights.   You pay more to sit in Italy , but that seat is yours as long as you want but  you must  buy as little as a drink or as much as a meal.  Ice cream or gelato is a favorite especially in warm weather. The street theater always amuses. . . artists, mimes, dancers, singers, or just tourists!

You will find it all and more in the Piazza Novona in the heart of old Rome!