Italy Travel & Hotel Guide

The boundary of the historic centre to the east, Via del Corso is Rome’s main thoroughfare, leading all the way from Piazza Venezia at its southern end up to the Piazza del Popolo to the north. On its orient side, it gives onto the swish shopping streets that lead up to Piazza di Spagna, on the western side the web of streets that tangles its way right down to the Tiber. So titled for races that used to take place along here during Renaissance times, the street has had its clean share of famous residents during the years: Goethe lived for two years at no.18, close to the Piazza del Popolo end; the Shelleys - Percy and Mary - lived for several years in the Palazzo Vesporio, at 375 Via del Corso (now a bank), during which time they lost their son William to a fever. More recently, it has become Rome’s principal shopping street, home to a mixture of upmarket boutiques and chain stores that make it a busy stretch during the day, full of hurrying pedestrians and crammed buses, but a relatively dead one come the evening.

Category: Rome