Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II

Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II is the largest square in Rome at 316 by 174 metres, a rectangular park-like block in the Esquilino district north of Termini. It was laid out after 1870 as the central residential square of the new capital, modelled on Turin with continuous arcaded facades in a Savoyard style. In the north-east corner stands the Porta Magica from the former Villa Palombara: a mysterious 17th-century marble doorway covered in alchemical symbols and seven cryptic inscriptions - the only alchemical teaching gate of Rome preserved in stone. Today Piazza Vittorio is Rome's multicultural heart: the city's Chinatown sits here, Asian and Middle Eastern food shops fill the arcades, an international market is around the corner, and the park itself draws families from all over.