The shops of Via del Corso and Via del Tritone make it one of Rome's liveliest squares. At the centre, the Column of Marcus Aurelius, was erected between 176 and 193 A.D. It tells of the emperor's military feats on the banks of the Danube. But, St. Paul has replaced the emperor at the top. People in the crowd below are indifferent to great historical episodes and charge back and forth all the time, weighed down with bags, but with ears stuck to their telefonino.