Located in the Piazza of Monte Cavallo, Rome, Italy
If you visit Rome and pass by the fountain of Monte Cavallo in the piazza of the same name then you will be walking in the footsteps of many popes. This piazza lies at the very heart of Rome and the fountains that have been built here over the years have experienced all that is good and bad about the city.
The current fountain is part of a group of structures including an obelisk and a group of statues called a Dioscuri that stand within the Piazza of Monte Cavallo. This fountain creates a fantastic water display that is well worth a look – a single jet of water shoots to the skies between statue horses’ heads and then is carried around by whatever wind may be blowing before it descends again and falls back into its basin.
There have been various other fountains in the Piazza of Monte Cavallo over the years. Perhaps the most famous one was commissioned by Pope Sixtus V. This fountain’s fame is probably due to the fact that it had a well known designer, Fontana. The statue that Fontana built with Pope Sixtus V was destined to stand directly before the pope’s palace residence in the piazza. The fountain that you can see in the piazza today stands in the very same place as the one Fontana created – however, it’s not really clear when Fontana’s fountain was removed. His fountain was composed of a large basin and vase combination – to be honest, this fountain was considered to be a bit pedestrian and won’t go down as one of the architect’s best designs by any means. So, its removal was not viewed as any great loss.
The replacement fountain that came into being in the Piazza of Monte Cavallo utilized a granite basin that was found in the ruins of the Roman forum – the architect who built this structure, Raphael Stem, placed the basin deep down into the ground between figures of horse trainers and then placed another travertine-based receptacle in the center. This basin catches the falling water as it returns from the air before it drops down into the bottom receptacle.
The Dioscuri garden statues that make up the background to this fountain are extremely well known within Rome. This piazza plays a pivotal part in Roman life and they have seen the deaths, elections and ascensions of numerous popes as well as many other important events.