This is one of the world's most famous squares, composed of a series of monuments in unsurpassed harmony. This slightly sloping "shell" or "fan" in pink and white tones is a fine example of those "open-air drawing rooms" which are such a glory of Italy's towns, representing less the convergence of thoroughfares but more a kind of urban village green, the focus of all city life bearing witness to the great historical proclamations and factional disputes that make up a place's history.