The Testaccio Fountain or Pius IX Fountain is located in the Lungotevere Testaccio in Rome. The fountain was commissioned by Pope Pius IX, to celebrate (and brag about) having the walls along the river Tiber constructed.
Continue reading “Testaccio Fountain Rome”Category: Fountain
Celimontana Fountain Rome
The Celimontana Fountain in Rome is also called the Fountain of Pius IX. This fountain, built in the 19th century, first stood near the San Clemente Basilica Continue reading “Celimontana Fountain Rome”
Trevi Fountain Rome
The Trevi Fountain is one of the top 10 tourist attractions in Rome and really ought to be seen not once, but twice. During daytime the fountain is already an impressive monument, but it is at its most imposing after midnight, when the crowds have returned to their hotels and there are but few people left to admire this brightly lit baroque masterpiece. Throw a coin into the fountain and you are sure to return to Rome one day. Throw yourself into the water and you will be fined.
Trevi Fountain Rome
History and description
One of the most famous scenes in the history of world cinema making is the one in Fellini‘s La Dolce Vita where Anita Ekberg invites Marcello Mastroianni to join her in the Trevi Fountain.
In reality it is severely forbidden to enter the water of the Fontana di Trevi, which was designed by the architect Nicola Salvi by order of Pope Clement XII.
The Trevi Fountain (height 26m and width 22m) is, as is the case with several churches and monuments in Rome, located at the spot where there used to be a well. It was called Trevi because the square it faces is called Trevi and the square is called Trevi because three streets (“tre vie“) used to lead to it.
The statue to the right of the fountain depicts a virgin who had told a soldier where the well was to be found.
The statue dominating its center depicts the Sea God Neptune on a shell-shaped chariot. Two winged horses pull him towards the ocean. The horses, one calm and one restless, personify the two aspects of the sea.
The niches on either side of the fountain contain statues personifying “Health” and “Abundance”.
The fountain is built agains the back of the historic building Palazzo Poli. It was, and still is, fed by the Acqua Vergine Aqueduct.
Trevi Fountain Do’s and Dont’s
Of all the tourist attractions in Rome, the Trevi Fountain is perhaps the most touristy. Almost every shop in every street leading to the fountain in some way or other is part of the tourist industry. People take you picture and want money for it, people try to sell you bracelets, sunglasses, roses when you’re a couple and umbrellas when it rains. Often these days, there are so many people that you are not even allowed to stand still anymore.
It is common practice to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain before leaving Rome. This has to be done over the left shoulder, with one’s back to the monument. According to legend this will assure a future return to the Eternal City. In the past one was supposed to take a sip of water from the fountain in order to achieve this, not the most healthy of superstitions.
Nowadays tourists sometimes think it would be nice to act like Anita Ekberg and jump into the fountain. Fines are steep, so you might want to think twice before doing this. Recently, the authorities have gone a step further and you are not even allowed to sit on the ledge around the fountain anymore.
Trevi Fountain – Piazza di Trevi, Rome
Acqua Paola Fountain Rome
The Fontana dell’Aqua Paola is one of the most impressive fountains in Rome. It was built on top of the Janiculum Hill in the Trastevere district. For people who have seen the Italian movie La Grande Bellezza, the fountain is seen in the film’s opening scenes, when the Asian tourist has a heart attack.
Continue reading “Acqua Paola Fountain Rome”Fountain of the Bees Rome
Apart from the more famous Fontana del Tritone there is another fountain near Piazza Barberini. The Fountain of the Bees can be found at the beginning of the Via Vittorio Veneto and like its more famous cousin was created by Bernini.
Fountain of the Bees Rome
The Fontana delle Api is a small, but rather elegant fountain. It was constructed in the year 1644, in honor of Pope Urban VIII Barberini.
The large bees that give the fountain its name are there because the bee was the symbol of the Barberini family.
The name of Urban VIII himself is written on the sea-shell that is the main feature of the Fountain of the Bees. The inscription on the shell states that the fountain’s water is meant for use of the public (and their animals).
The present spot is not where the Fountain of the Bees started its existence. Originally it stood on the corner of Piazza Barberini and the Via Sistina, but was taken away in 1865, not to be rebuilt until 1915.
Public transportation
The Fontana delle Api stands at the beginning of the Via Veneto. The nearest metro stop is Barberini (line A). The nearest bus stop is Barberini (lines 61, 62, 85, 492, 590, N1, N5, N12).
Fountain of the Bees – Via Veneto, Rome
Fountain of the Pantheon Rome
The Fountain of the Pantheon in Rome is located right in the middle of the Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon itself. Continue reading “Fountain of the Pantheon Rome”
Via del Babuino Rome
Seen from the Piazza del Popolo, the Via del Babuino is the left one of the three streets that together form Rome‘s famous shopping “Tridente“. The street gets its name from the statue of the “baboon” near the Church of Sant’Atanasio dei Greci. Most of the artist’s studios that used to line the street have been replaced by expensive antique stores.
Via del Babuino Rome
The hill to the left of the Via del Babuino when entering from the Piazza del Popolo is the famous Pincio Hill.
The Via del Babuino started out as two different streets, called Via dell’Orto di Napoli and Via del Cavalletto. In 1925, when Pope Clemens VII ordered the construction of the new street it came to be called Via Clementina. After its completion in 1943 the then Pope Paul III, changed the name to Via Paolina Trifaria.
Most buildings in the street date from the 17th till the 19th century, however.
Before the area at the bottom of the Pincio became popular most Romans used to live near the banks of the Tiber. Problems with malaria, lack of drinking water and overpopulation caused the wealthier part of the population to start looking elsewhere.
The area at the foot of the Pincio was only scarcely populated and would have been ideal, but for the lack of drinking water. This problem was solved when the decision was taken to restore the Acqua Vergine, the least damaged of all of the city’s aqueducts. Even now a branch of this aqueduct still runs underneath the Via del Babuino and provides the Piazza del Popolo fountains with water.
A second way to get people to move to this area was to not tax shop space. This enabled foreign artists who came to Rome to set up their studios in the Via del Babuino and the Via Margutta. Famous examples are Rubens, Poussin and Van Wittel.
In the 18th century rents started creeping up and the Via del Babuino became less popular. The 19th century saw a revival however, and artists like the composers Wagner and Liszt resided in the street.
Nowadays the Via del Babuino is a street for the rich. There are hardly any artists’ studios left and the street is full of luxury antique stores.
Tourist attractions Via del Babuino
The Hôtel de Russie is so luxurious that they had to give it French name. It used to have the nickname “Hotel of Kings”. Its beautiful garden stretches up the Pincio Hill. After the end of World War II it was converted into office space, but since 2000 it performs its previous function again.
Rome’s Anglican All Saints Church occupies the Via del Babuino 153/b.
Slightly further down the road the Church of Sant’Atanasio dei Greci, which was designed by Giacomo della Porta can be seen.
To the left if this church you can see the former sudio of the Tadolini family of sculptors. The Fountain of the Baboon is placed against the facade of this building. In 1571 Pius V had a statue dedicated to Silenius, antique deity of wells and fountains, installed. This statue was so ugly that the inhabitants of the area came to refer to it as the “baboon” and the street ended up with its present name.
The Palazzo Nainer was built in the 19th century.
News
The Via del Babuino is now Rome‘s most expensive luxury street. Adding up the value of all of its buildings, its total worth, in 2016, came to 1½ billion Euros.
Openbaar vervoer
The Via del Babuino lies between the underground stops Flaminio and Spagna, both on line A. The nearest bus stop is Piazzale Flaminio (lines 89, 490, 495, 590, 628, C3, N1, N25).
Via del Babuino – Rome
Piazza Mastai Fountain Rome
The Piazza Mastai Fountain is located in the middle of the square with the same name in the Trastevere district in Rome.
Piazza Mastai Fountain Rome
Both the fountain and the Manifattura, a building in the Piazza Mastai, were designed by the architect Antonio Sarti.
A second architect, Andrea Busiri Vici, was responsible for the fountain’s actual construction, which consists of an octagonal vessel on three steps.
The coat-of-arms of Pope Mattei is depicted on the monument and in its center there is another basin on a pedestal held high by 4 dolphins. On top of that vessel 4 lion’s heads spout water.
Piazza Mastai Fountain Rome Photo Gallery
Piazza Mastai – Rome
Fontana della Barcaccia Rome
The Fontana della Barcaccia (“Fountain of the Old Boat” or “Fountain of the Ugly Boat”) can be found at the bottom of the Spanish Steps in Rome, right in the middle of the Piazza di Spagna.
Fontana della Barcaccia Rome
It is a baroque water fountain in the shape of an old boat (hence the name “barcaccia“). The motif was chosen when an old boat was left behind when the water had receded after the Tiber had flooded (as often happened before the walls around this river were constructed).
The fountain was built by the two Bernini‘s, father Pietro and son Gian Lorenzo. The work, which had been commissioned by Pope Urban VIII, was completed in 1627.
After a restoration that took more or less one entire year, as of September 22, 2014, the Fontana della Barcaccia can again be admired in all its splendor. Only a couple of months later a bunch of Feyenoord football hooligans damaged the fountain and a new restoration was necessary.
Piazza di Spagna – Rome
Fontana della Navicella Rome
The Fontana della Navicella (“Fountain of the Small Boat”) can be found on the Via della Navicella in front of the church of Santa Maria in Domnica in the rione Celio in Rome. It was built in 1519 and probably replaced an earlier damaged version.
Fontana della Navicella Rome
Address, opening hours and admission
Address: Via della Navicella. Opening hours and admission: The Fontana della Navicella can be seen from outside.
History
The Fontana della Navicella is thought to have been built in the years 1518-19, based on a project by Sansovino (who was also responsible for restoration of the church).
In 1514 Sansovino had also restored the Santa Maria in Domnica Church.
It is not the first fountain in this spot. Before the present version there used to be a marble boat representing a Roman galley, probably a votive offering to the goddess Isis.
Isis was the protectress of sailors. Probably the ship was found near the Colosseum. According to one theory it was connected to Egyptian sailors passing through Rome and sleeping in the nearby Castro Peregrinorum, a barracks for soldiers not stationed in Rome. Another possibility is that it was placed here by the sailors who took care of the velarium, the great veils protecting the Colosseum from the sun.
Description
From the central part of the boat’s bridge, a jet of water emerges and lands in the basin below. The coat of arms on the foundation is that of Pope Leo X Medici.
The ship is raised on a marble stone and inserted in a quadrangular flowerbed. It is protected by small columns connected by wrought iron chains.
Another fountain in Rome using the boat motif is the Fontana della Barcaccia in the Piazza di Spagna.
