Description
Piazza Trieste e Trento is one of the hubs of central Naples: via Toledo, via Chiaia and via San Carlo converge here, and it is the main access to Piazza del Plebiscito. It is a concentrate of Naples in a single glance.
Around the square stand the Teatro San Carlo, the Royal Palace, the palace of Cardinal Zapata, Palazzo D'Alessandro di Pescolanciano and the 17th-century church of San Ferdinando, from which the square took its first name.
At the center is the Artichoke fountain, commissioned by mayor Achille Lauro in 1956. The fine arts authorities had said no to an old fountain, and he gave the city a new one. For its shape, the Neapolitans called it that right away.
On the west side, in the Prefecture building, is the famous Caffè Gambrinus, with decorations by artists active between the 19th and 20th centuries. Illustrious customers include D'Annunzio and Marinetti.
In Palazzo Zapata, at number 48, is the Museo Giuseppe Caravita Principe di Sirignano, devoted to Neapolitan artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Lauro had also been president of Napoli: the fountain is tied to the team, and during celebrations of victories fans have more than once stormed it.
Until 1843, where today there is a wide space between the theater and the royal palace, stood the Viceregal Palace, built in 1540 at the wish of Don Pedro de Toledo.
The church of San Ferdinando is incorporated in the same block as the Galleria Umberto I. For those coming from via Toledo, the square is the passage toward the far more famous Piazza del Plebiscito and the Royal Palace.
In 1876 the Naples-Portici-Torre del Greco tramway departed from here: at first the cars were omnibuses whose wheels were swapped to continue on rails.
The present name came in 1919, to celebrate victory in World War I.
Around the square stand the Teatro San Carlo, the Royal Palace, the palace of Cardinal Zapata, Palazzo D'Alessandro di Pescolanciano and the 17th-century church of San Ferdinando, from which the square took its first name.
At the center is the Artichoke fountain, commissioned by mayor Achille Lauro in 1956. The fine arts authorities had said no to an old fountain, and he gave the city a new one. For its shape, the Neapolitans called it that right away.
On the west side, in the Prefecture building, is the famous Caffè Gambrinus, with decorations by artists active between the 19th and 20th centuries. Illustrious customers include D'Annunzio and Marinetti.
In Palazzo Zapata, at number 48, is the Museo Giuseppe Caravita Principe di Sirignano, devoted to Neapolitan artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Lauro had also been president of Napoli: the fountain is tied to the team, and during celebrations of victories fans have more than once stormed it.
Until 1843, where today there is a wide space between the theater and the royal palace, stood the Viceregal Palace, built in 1540 at the wish of Don Pedro de Toledo.
The church of San Ferdinando is incorporated in the same block as the Galleria Umberto I. For those coming from via Toledo, the square is the passage toward the far more famous Piazza del Plebiscito and the Royal Palace.
In 1876 the Naples-Portici-Torre del Greco tramway departed from here: at first the cars were omnibuses whose wheels were swapped to continue on rails.
The present name came in 1919, to celebrate victory in World War I.