The Knights' Square

This little square is the only one Giovanni Battista Piranesi 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 Order of Malta, 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 green door on the right side of the square, where you'll usually find a few people waiting.