Public Space Study II

Any public space which is to be an animate space must be defined—there must be edges. In its simplest form, the edge is the line at which the space of the piazza becomes the mass of the palazzo. It is a dividing line and no more. The edge is rarely ever solid in Rome: fenestration sparks a dialogue between interior and exterior, though it does little to create a transitional space in between. A more dynamic edge offers a fluid transition between spaces and has the potential to create space for functions that would otherwise not be found. Two types are prevalent within Rome: the ‘umbrella edge’ (where umbrellas line the façade) and the portico (where space is hollowed out within the palazzo.

In the Centro Storico, it is quite common to find restaurants lining the edge of streets and piazze which seat their guests outside under the cover of umbrellas. When a number of these establishments are concatenated, it forms an umbrella edge. The Piazza Navona, the Piazza della Rotonda, and the Campo dei Fiore are especially representative of this condition. Under these umbrellas, space is formed where people can sit and watch the activity occurring on the piazza. Since the umbrellas can be folded up, these spaces are completely flexible, able to expand, contract, and be relocated as necessary to suit varying numbers of people throughout the day.

Porticoes on the edges of piazze become more prevalent as one drifts away from the Centro Storico. Porticoes are evident on the Piazza della Repubblica and Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. Like the umbrella edges, these elements provide an open but covered space along the periphery of the piazza which allow for a fluid transition between outdoors and indoors. However, porticoes are quite different from umbrellas. Firstly, they are a permanent condition whereas umbrellas are ephemeral. A comparison between the Piazza della Repubblica and the Campo dei Fiore further illustrates the differences. Whereas the space under the umbrellas on the Campo dei Fiore are places for sitting, the porticoes along the southwestern edges of the Piazza della Repubblica is a space of movement and circulation. Here the market, the center of activity, is at the periphery rather than at the center. The problem with this is that there is nothing to animate the center of the Piazza—nothing to hold it together. A perpetual barricade of bypassing cars further compounds the problem by restricting access to the center of the piazza, the fountain. Thus pedestrians stick to the periphery where the activity can be found and the space cannot be understood as a whole.
























A fluid edge implies a layered edge, and a layered edge suggests more than one type of space. Indeed, micro-spaces are created within the larger space of the piazza, especially on the Piazza Navona. As mentioned, the walls of the palazzi give way to outdoor seating under umbrellas in a sort of semi-public space. The next layer is the street, bounded by curbs, which surrounds the piazza and is where pedestrians (and the occasional car) circulate about. At the center of the Piazza Navona is the daytime market along with the three fountains. Here in the main activity space, the most public space, away from the edges people circulate in all directions at various speeds, take pictures, sit, and browse hrough the art.