Why is there a cannon shooting in the center of Rome every single day? To see this Roman cannon in action you’ll have to be on top of the Janiculum hill at midday (sharp!) on any day of the week.
This cannon shoots every single day from here since 1847! Why? Because in 1847 Pope Pius IX was fed up with all the church bells of Rome ringing at different times (after all, time in Rome has been a relative concept since forever 😄). Therefore he decided to set up a cannon that would shoot every single day at midday to signal the correct time when to ring the bells, so that all the churches would be synchronized! Of course there is no cannon ball inside the cannon! Only some gunpowder 😉
If you’re there at midday, you’ll hear it before you see it.
Here’s what the moment looks like.
📍You’ll find it in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi
Want to discover more gems of Rome?
Take a look at our small-group walking tours. On these tours you explore Rome’s iconic sights and lots of unexpected wonders you might miss otherwise, always in intimate groups of no more than 12 people.
Our tours are not packed, not rushed, and not stuck in tourist spots — because this is how we’d show Rome to a close friend. You can learn more about how our Rome tours work or the best Rome tours.
