Rome Fountains

The “Fontana di Trevi” is considered one of the most famous throughout the world and there is no question that is one of the majestic and most beautiful in Rome, due to it dominates a small square in Rome’s heart. This baroque construction was inspired by sea mythology and Pope Clement XII commissioned to Nicola Salvi to create a large fountain at the Trevi Square who started it in 1732 but he died before it was culminated.

The central figure of the fountain is Neptune, Sea’s God. He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses and each of one is guided by a Triton. The horses symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea, one of them is calm and obedient and the other one is restive.

A traditional legend says who throws a coin into the fountain will return to the Eternal City – Rome. Around 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day and are collected at night but the destiny of the money has been used it to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain, including some using a magnetized pole.

Trevi Fountain, Rome

The Fontana della Barcaccia is located in Piazza di Spagna, at the foot of the Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Trinita dei Monti). Also called the Fountain of the Old Boat, it is a baroque fresh-water fountain in Rome and is so named because is in boat’s shape. It was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII and was completed in 1627 by Pietro Bernini and his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The structure is reminiscent of a boat sunk by water, in remembrance of the Tiber flood that hit Rome in 1598.

The Fontana di Tritone is located in Piazza Barberini and was built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and commissioned by the Barberini family in 1642. The artist designed the fountain in 1643 when work on the Barberini Palace had been completed.

The fountain shows Triton who is blowing into a shell while four dolphins hold him up. “The Tritone”, first of Bernini’s fountains was erected to provide water from the Acqua Felice aqueduct, which urban had restored in a dramatic celebration. The heraldic symbols of the famous pope Urban VIII stand out clearly on the fountain. Bernini had a genius for incorporating that lively, mobile element, water, into his sculpture.

Left: Triton Fountain – Right: Fountain of the Four Rivers

The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was situated in Piazza S. Pietro in Vatican and designed by Bernini for Pope Innocent X. One of the many obelisks that visitors could appreciate in Rome has been placed on top of the fountain.

The central fountain is considered to be the most complex of all fountains in Rome. It was created by Bernini in the early 1650s and was so expensive that the bread tax was raised in order to cover its high cost.

The fountain base holds four colossal statues representing four major rivers: Danube for Europe, Ganges for Africa, Nile for Egypt and Rio della Plata for America. Each figure is semi-prostrate before the obelisk places at the centre of the tower, symbolizing the sovereignty of the pope over the temporal domains. The obelisk itself was made in Egypt for Domitian and originally was stood in the Circus of Maxentius on Via Appia. After the fall of Rome it lay there broken into 5 pieces for centuries before being moved to the Piazza Navona.

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