About this walk
This short walk of about one and a half kilometres follows the talking statues of Rome, the group the city calls the congrega degli arguti. Under papal rule there was no free press, so Romans stuck their criticism on a handful of ancient statues at night, and those texts were passed around the city the next day.
You pass Pasquino, Marforio, Madama Lucrezia, Abate Luigi and Il Facchino, and the walk ends back at Pasquino, where notes still appear today. Everything is out on the street except Marforio, which stands in the courtyard of the Capitoline Museums and needs a ticket.
The stops
Walk them in order; each story plays when you reach its pin.
- 1Stop 1
Rome's oldest satirist
A battered ancient statue that has served as Rome's noticeboard for mockery since 1501.
- 2Stop 2
The one who answered
The river god who asked the question Pasquino answered, until a pope had him moved indoors.
Read the story - 3Stop 3
The Woman of Stone
A colossal bust from an Egyptian sanctuary, the only female voice in the company.
Read the story - 4Stop 4
The abbot with three names
A toga-clad Roman who lost his head more than once, with a line on the base that he seems to speak himself.
Read the story - 5Stop 5
The Water Carrier
A sixteenth-century water carrier, the only one in this little company that isn't an ancient statue.
Read the story - 6Stop 6
The conversation goes on
Why the statues spoke, what's left of the company, and why notes still hang here today.
Read the story
Ready when you are
Walk The talking statues with ROODS.
6 stops through Rome. Open ROODS in your browser, walk to the first pin and the story plays.
- Stories on a map, with narrated audio
- Walk at your own pace, stop where you like
- Runs in your browser. An app is optional.
