{"id":5025,"date":"2015-11-05T14:59:49","date_gmt":"2015-11-05T13:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=5025"},"modified":"2021-11-22T13:24:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T12:24:09","slug":"the-must-see-fountains-of-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/the-must-see-fountains-of-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"The Must-See Fountains of Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"must-see<\/p>\n

There are many ways that you can tour Rome, depending on your interests. Obviously food tours are very popular, as are history tours, architecture tours, and tours of famous movie sites. Another great way to see The Eternal City is by visiting the many must-see fountains.<\/p>\n

I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute to several of the beautiful iconic landmarks that are scattered around the city, starting in Piazza Navona and finishing with that memorable scene between Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Must-See Fountains of Rome<\/h2>\n

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"fountainThe Fountain of the Four Rivers is nestled in the center of Piazza Navona, showcasing the artwork of several sculptors including Giacomo Antonia Fancelli and Francesco Baratta. The four major rivers \u2013 Ganges, Nile, Danube and Plate \u2013 are represented by the four statues which surround an impressive obelisk. The fountain itself is a beautiful example of\u00a0Baroque artwork\u00a0designed by the legendary\u00a0Gian Lorenzo Bernini. (It won\u2019t be the last time that we see his name on this list.)<\/p>\n

Fontana del Moro<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the opposite side of the Piazza Navona, visitors can marvel at another architectural gem which dates back to 1575. The design originally featured four sculptures of Tritons with a dolphin at its center. Bernini was later tapped for the\u00a0renovation project where he chose to add a larger Triton grasping a dolphin.<\/p>\n

\"fontanaFontana di Nettuno<\/strong><\/p>\n

The third and final fountain to be found in the Piazza Navona is the imposing Nettuno. Displaying the Roman god Neptune attacking an octopus, this fountain wasn\u2019t always as dramatic. Commissioned in 1576 for Giacomo della Porta, extra details have been\u00a0added over 300 years later to provide the finished masterpiece that we see today.<\/p>\n

Fontana delle Rane<\/strong><\/p>\n

The focal point of the smallest district in Rome,\u00a0Quartiere Coppede, is the Fountain of the Frogs, which remains just as unique as the surrounding hotchpotch of architecture. The small neighborhood was designed by architect Gino Coppede with a strange and vibrant mix of Baroque, art nouveau and medieval influences. The toad sculptures of the fountain became world famous when the Beatles visited and splashed around its waters.<\/p>\n

Fontana delle Tartaruge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of amphibians, or rather reptiles, the Fountain of the Turtles is another landmark that pays homage to our animal friends. However, the careful observer notes that the turtles are a bit incongruous with the overall style.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo Credit: WikiCommons, Zorro2212<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In fact, the fountain was designed by the architect Giacomo della Porta and constructed by the sculptor Taddeo Landini between 1580 and 1588. The original plan called for four bronze dolphins on the upper bowl, supported by the upraised hands of four young men. However, the dolphins had to be removed due to insufficient water pressure. This left the upraised hands of the statues \u201cempty-handed,\u201d so to speak.<\/p>\n

To correct this eyesore and balance the composition, the four turtles were added in 1658 during a restoration by none other than our good friend Bernini. (Is there a fountain in Rome without his touch?) Notice how lifelike the animals appear to be. This is because Bernini probably used casts of real turtles, as he did with many sculptures of other living creatures.\"tritone\"<\/p>\n

Fontana del Tritone<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is yet another of Bernini\u2019s masterpieces, gracing the middle of Piazza Barberini. He created it as per the instructions from his patron, Pope Urban VIII, who wanted the sculptor to interpret a passage from Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book I, demonstrating Triton\u2019s control over the waters, and saving mankind from the Great Flood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe waters, listening to his trumpet’s roar, <\/em><\/p>\n

obey the summons, and forsake the shore.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Fontana delle Naiadi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never heard of this one? Well, if you\u2019ve been to Rome, I guarantee that you\u2019ve seen it, even if many native Romans don\u2019t know it by name. But it\u2019s the big one in the middle of the roundabout in Piazza della Repubblica, with scantily clad young women splashing about in its waters. (I told you that you\u2019ve seen it!)<\/p>\n

This was a remodel done in 1901 with the sculptures of Naiads by Mario Rutelli from Palermo, replacing the original fountain of the Acqua Pia<\/em>. These are water nymphs from classical mythology giving life to lakes, rivers, springs, and fountains. It\u2019s one of my favorites.<\/p>\n

Fontana di Trevi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now we\u2019re back to where the inspiration for this post started: The Trevi Fountain, made famous by Fellini\u2019s film<\/a> (La Dolce Vita<\/em>, 1960) and countless souvenir photos taken by tourists in Rome.<\/p>\n

Regarded as one of the great fountains of the world, this architectural masterpiece is one of the city\u2019s tourist hot spots. Conceived by famed architect, Nicola Salvi, it took 30 years to complete with an impressive height of 26 meters. Admire the intricate sculptures and be sure to throw in a coin for good luck. It\u2019s alleged that over 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain every day.<\/p>\n

While visiting in 2011, my own mother was so captivated by this idea that she threw her entire purse in the fountain. (True story, although \u201cdropped\u201d might be more accurate than \u201cthrew.\u201d)\"trevi<\/p>\n

Recently, water began flowing once again at Trevi Fountain after a 17-month, 2.2 million euro (\u00a31.55 million; $2.4 million) restoration. The work was sponsored by the Rome-based Fendi fashion house. This trend of public\/private partnerships is becoming increasingly crucial for preserving the national treasures in Italy during these tight economic times.<\/p>\n

I last stopped by the fountain myself about a month ago when it was still dry. There was access to the area along a temporary bridge\u2014and a small \u201cpuddle\u201d where people were still tossing coins.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fun to have a theme when on holiday, and for a city break in Rome, there are many ways to envision this, including the “beautiful fountains” itinerary.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget to make a wish! One coin will suffice, though; you don\u2019t have to donate your entire wallet like my mother did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are many ways that you can tour Rome, depending on your interests. Obviously food tours are very popular, as are history tours, architecture tours, and tours of famous movie sites. Another great way to see The Eternal City is by visiting the many must-see fountains. I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,10,94],"tags":[409,408,410,14,25],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}