Located at the foot of the hill with the castle of San Giusto, the square faces the Adriatic Sea.The local Slovenes still refer to it as Veliki trg (Great Square), both in daily speech and in the media.In November 2013 President of Russia Vladimir Putin met Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta there for bilateral talks.[citation needed] In July 2017 a trilateral meeting attended by Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, and Paolo Gentiloni was held there, as well as the fourth Western Balkans Summit.On 7th July 2024 Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass in the square as part of the 50th Social Week of Catholics in Italy.