Initially called Piazza Esedra, the Piazza Della Repubblica follows the shape of what was once the ancient Baths of Diocletian. These public baths were built 1700 years ago and were the largest in Rome. The church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, built by Michelangelo from the ruins of the Baths, is right across from the colonnades. It has a shape of a semicircle, and on either side are two 19th century buildings with the massive arches supported by columns. In the center of the Piazza is the “Fontana delle Naiadi” (Italian) or the “Fountain of the Nayads” (English). This is a large fountain, and was built in 1901 at the time of the great renewal of Rome when it became the capital after the unification of Italy.

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The fountain features four bronze nymphs. Each of the four nymphs is naked, which caused great consternation because of their excessively realistic sensuality. In the center of the fountain one can see the figure of the fisherman Glauco who's struggling with a fish to defeat the hostile forces of nature, a figure of a sea god, which was added later. Today the square is a meeting point for official demonstrations and for receiving visiting delegations from abroad, and is usually filled with traffic.

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