Piazza della Minerva square in Rome, the title of which comes from the temple of the goddess of wisdom Minerva, built here on the orders of the Roman statesman and military commander gnea Pompey. On this small area is concentrated several of the attractions you can explore tour.

In the center of the square stands the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, the first mention of which occurs in the texts of the 8th century. On the right side of the facade you can see the inscriptions, which immortalized the floods of the Tiber between 1422 and 1598 for years – the area is the lowest in Rome and therefore often suffers from floods. Situated close to the Dominican monastery, which eventually grew into a side street of via del the Seminario and the Church of San of Makuta. Earlier on this place, there were three Roman temple – the temple of Minerva, the temple of ISIS (Iseum) and the temple of Serapis (Serapeum). In the 17th century the monastery became the headquarters of the Roman Inquisition – here was the trial of Galileo Galileo. Today the original buildings of the monastery, little has survived except his gallery. The last in the 19th century was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of national education and the Ministry of posts and telecommunications. Today in the gallery of the library of the Italian Senate.

The convent stands a sculpture of the Elephant and Obelisk by Bernini in 1667. The obelisk was recovered from under the ruins of the temple of ISIS, and the figure of an elephant, the inhabitants of Rome called "the pig" because it is believed that Bernini portrayed the pig.

To the right of the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva stands the Palazzo Fonseca 16th century from 1832 it houses a hotel, the guests were writer Stendhal and national hero of Argentina, josé de San Martin, what is a memorial plaque on the facade. And right opposite the Church is the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy – structure of the 14th century, modernized in the late 19th century. Here are trained diplomats of the Vatican city state.