Piazza Navona: Vs. Piazza Mondello

Piazza Navona is much bigger than Piazza Mondello, but the things that Mondello has that Navona does not is the hometown local charm. The places where we often go in Rome are riddled with tourists and people trying to make money off of them. In the Piazza Mondello, you see more of the local hang out, there are teenagers with their significant others, the elderly, everyone, and not one of them speaks English. This was a nice change since the usual Piazzas we go to are quite the opposite. We got to see the Sicilians in their element, without any interference from anything, just their every day lives.

The Piazza Mondello though was lacking in fun in comparison to Navona. Navona has street performers, artists, and more, while Mondello reminded me of the Arnold's (Happy Days reference) of Sicily. There are no gimmicks, no touristy price tags, and most importantly almost no one stares at you for obnoxious periods of time! So, although Navona has that big appeal with all the hustle and bustle, and entertainment, if what you are looking for is to see what normal Italians do in their piazzas where no tourists are, then go to Piazza Mondello.