Piazza Cesare Battisti is a square in the historic centre of Rovereto, in existence at least since the fifteenth century. It has changed name several times: «Plazeola» in the fifteenth century, then piazza delle Oche, after the stone sculptures of swans, mistaken for geese, that stood on the well; the present name dates from just after the First World War. Many wrongly call it piazza del Nettuno, after its fountain.
What to see
The Neptune fountain has been here since 1976: before that it stood by Palazzo Annona, on corso Bettini. The statue suffered a vandal theft, and the trident was replaced by one in wrought iron, the work of Luigino Armani of Pannone. On the corner with vicolo del Messaggero is Casa Lenner, with a Virgin and Child with saints in a stucco frame on the front.
In the small recess between the buildings, before the start of via Mazzini, is the fresco of the Annunciation, known as the Erbivendola, painted in 1621 by Martino Teofilo Polacco and Francesco Bartoli. The vicolo del Messaggero still has in part its passageways, stairs, cobbled courtyards and sixteenth-century corners: here stood the Al Cervo inn and the historic Marchesani printing house.
Visiting
The square is a public space, always accessible.
Our editors' tip
Beneath the paving lies a Roman-period cemetery: around 1919 excavations found four coins of the consular period, many other pieces datable between Hadrian and Constantine, jewellery and objects in precious metal. The burial area was large enough to take in the entrances of the streets that lead into the square.
