View allAll Photos Tagged Execution
For centuries the site of public executions (the last was in 1826), this public space was once much less grand than today. It was laid out in 1538 to provide a grand entrance to Rome's main northern gateway and was remodelled most significantly by Giuseppe Valadier in 1823 who created the gaping ellipse we see today. The 36 meter high obelisk was brought by Augustus from Heiopolis, in ancient Egypt and originally stood in Circo Massimo.