From the great aqueducts to the famous fountains of Rome

The Trevi Fountain is known to many as the symbol of the Italian “Dolce Vita”, but it once served as a reservoir for the city aqueduct. Still today, the Trevi Fountain is the final destination of the Aqua Vergine, one of the main Roman aqueducts, and the only one still in operation more than 2,000 years after its construction. The greatness of Rome was based on water: it was thanks to its aqueducts and water supply that Roman civilization developed. These same aqueducts, including the one beneath the Trevi Fountain, are still studied today by engineers in search of new solutions in a world where water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource.

Piazza Navona was once a stadium: more precisely, the first stadium built with masonry in ancient Rome and the perimeter of the playing field can still be seen today. Piazza Navona takes its name from the “agone”, or athletic games that were once held there, and not, as many believe, from the water games staged during the Baroque era and later resumed in the nineteenth century, when the square would be flooded during the month of August. Today, Piazza Navona is a symbol of Baroque Rome and features three fountains: the Fountain of the Four Rivers, the Fontana del Moro and the Fountain of Neptune.

The “mostre” (“terminal displays”) are monumental fountains designed to display the clear water conveyed from distant sources by means of ingenious hydraulic engineering and mark the terminal points of the aqueducts to which they correspond. The aqueducts are among the best-preserved remains of the Roman Empire, partly because they continued to function for centuries, long after its fall. They can be considered the element which, perhaps more than any other, made the creation of Rome and Roman civilization possible. Even today, the standards achieved by the Roman aqueducts are in a certain sense unparalleled and their capacity to supply arid areas is studied by contemporary engineers.

The Fountain of Moses in Piazza San Bernardo was built between 1585 and 1589 as the terminal mostra of the Felice aqueduct, which was restored by Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590), born Felice Peretti, after whom it was named.

Started and completed between the end of 1642 and the first half of 1643, the Fontana del Tritone in Piazza Barberini is one of the greatest works of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).

The Fontana delle Api (Fountain of the Bees) was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) in 1644 as a public fountain located near the monumental Fontana del Tritone. The fountain was dismantled in 1865 for reasons of viability and stored in the municipal warehouses. Rebuilt between 1915 and 1916, it was placed in an isolated corner of the piazza, towards Via Vittorio Veneto.

The complex of the Quattro Fontane (Four Fountains) was built under Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) on the Quirinal Hill to highlight the important intersection between Strada Pia (the present-day Via XX Settembre and Via del Quirinale) and Strada Felice (now Via Quattro Fontane and Via Sistina).

The construction of the fountain began in 1717 at the behest of Pope Clement XI Albani (1700-1721) in the piazza in front of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, which at the time marked the southern limit of the inhabited area within the city walls. Important renovation work had just been completed on the piazza, and the extension of the Acqua Felice water pipes allowed the construction of the monumental fountain and a trough fountain beside it to serve the needs of the citizens and herds of cattle passing by on their way to the nearby Roman Forum.

In 1589, an original fountain, served by the Felice aqueduct, was installed at the feet of the statues. The fountain was removed in 1783 in preparation for a new layout of the piazza. In 1786, Pope Pius VI Braschi (1775-1799) had the granite Egyptian obelisk from the Mausoleum of Augustus in the Campus Martius placed between the statues of the Dioscuri, according to a design by the architect Giovanni Antinori (1734-1792). As stated in the inscription by Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti (1800-1823), a new fountain was not built until 1818, with the reuse of a large grey granite basin, formerly in the Roman Forum, supported by a huge base that raises it above the pool.

The Fontana dell’Acqua Paola, also known as the “Fontanone” (“Big Fountain”) of the Janiculum, was commissioned by Pope Paul V Borghese (1605-1621) following the restoration of the Acqua Traiana aqueduct, which he had promoted in 1608. The construction of the fountain, built between 1610 and 1614 as the terminal mostra of the Traiano-Paolo aqueduct, was entrusted to Giovanni Fontana (1540-1614), who was assisted by Flaminio Ponzio (1560-1613).

Commissioned by Pope Paul V Borghese (1605-1620), it was originally located on the left bank of the Tiber at the end of Via Giulia, to which it formed a backdrop. It was supplied by a branch of the Traiano-Paulo aqueduct, which had been restored by Paul V to serve the Transtiberine area.

The basins of the two fountains come from the Baths of Caracalla. In the mid-sixteenth century, Pope Paul III Farnese had one of the basins moved to what was then known as Piazza del Duca and is now Piazza Farnese. When the influx from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct increased, Cardinal Odoardo Farnese requested and obtained the other basin, then located in Piazza Venezia, from Papa Gregorio XIII. He wanted to create twin fountains. However, his desire was not fulfilled until several years later, when Pope Paul V ordered the building of the aqueduct that bears his name.

The Fontana delle Tartarughe (Turtle Fountain) was built between 1581 and 1588 and designed by Giacomo della Porta (1533-1602), with sculptures by Florentine artist Taddeo Landini (1550-1596). It is characterised by the prevalence of the sculptured works on a complex and articulated architectural structure, enhanced by the use of precious polychrome marble.

The Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Ugly Boat), in Piazza di Spagna, was created by Pietro Bernini (1562-1629), architect and father of the more famous Gian Lorenzo (1598-1680), between 1626 and 1629 at the behest of Pope Urban VIII Barberini (1623 -1644). Pietro Bernini’s design was inspired by a boat: water gushes internally from two large suns placed at the stern and bow and from a small central basin. The water overflows from the sides of the boat, which are open so as to give the impression that it is sinking, and is collected in an underlying pool. On the sides, there are large papal coat of arms featuring bees, the symbol of the Barberini family.

The Fontana del Babuino (Fountain of the Baboon), thus nicknamed by the people of Rome due to the ugliness of the statue, was originally a “semi-public” fountain (built by a private individual for public use). It became so well-known to the people of Rome that even the name of the road was changed from Via Clementina to Via del Babuino. In popular tradition, it became part of the group of “talking statues” (along with Pasquino, Marforio, Madama Lucrezia and Abbot Luigi) that made up the “Congregation of Wits”, on which the Romans habitually posted anonymous complaints, known as pasquinades.

The Dea Roma fountain, located at the centre of the eastern semicircle, was completed in 1823. It takes its name from the large sculptural group placed above the basin, composed of a huge statue of the goddess Roma, armed and flanked by two seated statues representing the two rivers of Rome, the Tiber and the Aniene. At the feet of the goddess there is a she-wolf suckling twin boys, a depiction celebrating the legendary origins of the city. The majestic group was designed by the architect Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839) and sculpted by Giovanni Ceccarini (1790-1861). Below it there is a large semi-circular travertine marble pool above which a travertine half-shell receives water pouring from a small bowl above it.

The Fontana dei Leoni (Lions Fountain) at the centre of Piazza del Popolo replaced the fountain built in 1572 (dismantled and then reassembled in Piazza Nicosia) and is arranged around the Sistine obelisk. Valadier placed round travertine basins at the four corners of the stepped plinth, each with a stepped truncated pyramid bearing a white marble Egyptian-style lion, from whose mouths gush broad fans of water. The design, initiated by Giuseppe Valadier in 1811, was continued with contribution of the French architect L.M. Berthault during the years of Napoleonic domination. The work was completed in 1828.