Piazza della Minerva - Rome area, which takes its name from the temple of Minerva, goddess of wisdom, was built here on the orders of the Roman statesman and commander Gnaeus Pompey. This small area is concentrated several attractions that are worth seeing tour.

In the center of the square stands the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the first mention of which is found in the texts of the 8th century .  On the right side you can see the facade of the inscriptions, which immortalized the Tiber floods between 1422 and 1598 years - is the low-lying area in Rome and therefore often suffers from floods .  Nearby is the Dominican monastery, which eventually grew into the street Via del Seminario, and the church of San Macuto .  Earlier on this place there were three Roman church - the aforementioned Temple of Minerva, the temple of Isis (Izeum) and Serapiusa temple (Serapeum) .  In the 17th century the monastery became the headquarters of the Roman Inquisition - this is where the trial of Galileo Galilei .  Today, the original structure of the monastery little remained except its gallery .  Last in the 19th century under the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications .  Today the gallery is a library of the Italian Senate . 

The building is a former convent sculpture "Elephant and Obelisk" by Bernini in 1667. The obelisk was removed from under the ruins of the Temple of Isis, and the figure of the bishop of Rome residents called "pig" because it is believed that by Bernini portrayed is a pig.

To the right of the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva is Palazzo Fonseca 16th century - since 1832 it hosts the hotel guests who had the writer Stendhal and Argentine national hero Jose de San Martin, which is reminiscent of a plaque on the facade. A church is located directly opposite the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy - the structure of the 14th century and renovated in the late 19th century. It is here that are trained diplomats of the Vatican State.