This little square is the only one ever built, and he was known above all as a printmaker.
His whole life, Piranesi made etchings of Roman ruins that were half invention: darker, taller and more dramatic than the real thing. In 1765 he got his one chance to build in stone here, for the , and he filled the square with obelisks, carved trophies, coats of arms and symbols that belong more to a stage set than to an actual piazza.
The walls are covered with the military emblems of the order, which had its headquarters here: swords, helmets, ships. Look closely and you'll sense that the ornaments were meant to be drawn rather than lived among.
The Order of Malta is no ordinary organisation. It's a sovereign entity without any territory of its own, with its own passports, stamps and diplomatic ties to more than a hundred countries, and this ground formally falls under it.
We head for the on the right side of the square, where you'll usually find a few people waiting.
Sources. Story: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali (Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta); Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta Photos: Photo: Stefano Costantini (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)
