Piazza Mastai

The Piazza Mastai

The Rome audio-guided tour takes you to the Piazza Mastai, a pretty square of Trastevere named after Pope Pius IX.

The square of Pope Pius IX

The square owes its name to Pope Pius IX, whose real name was Giovanni Mastai. It is indeed here that he decided to have built, in 1860, the pontifical tobacco factory that faces the square, as indicated by the Latin inscription on its façade. An anecdote tells that the pope himself is said to have joked, on the day of his visit, about the small size of the entrance gate compared to the imposing building, exclaiming that, having entered through the window, it remained for him to find the door. The square is adorned at its centre with a monumental travertine fountain, also commissioned by Pius IX and completed in the 1860s, the work of the architect Andrea Busiri Vici. A pope full of humour, and a pretty square to remember him, in the heart of Trastevere.

What there is to see

The Piazza Mastai charms with its monumental travertine fountain and the former pontifical tobacco factory that borders it. Linked to Pope Pius IX and to an anecdote full of humour, it offers a quiet stop in the heart of Trastevere. It is a lesser-known square, to discover along the walk.

Practical information

The Piazza Mastai is in the district of Trastevere, in Rome. A public square in free access, it can be discovered on foot at all hours, around its monumental fountain.

Where does the name Piazza Mastai come from?

From Pope Pius IX, whose real name was Giovanni Mastai, who had a tobacco factory built here in 1860.

What is at the centre of the square?

A monumental travertine fountain, commissioned by Pope Pius IX and completed in the 1860s.