Rome, Italy
In days gone past the Piazza Navona was one of – if not the – most important areas in the city of Rome. The piazza itself was modeled on the stadium of Domitian.
The fountains that have been placed within this piazza rely on their water supply from the Virgo source. This basically means that the water pressures supplied to fountains in this location will not be strong enough to create those high and impressive jets of water that seem to fly so effortlessly into the air. So, the fountains here have all been designed to compensate for the intermittent water supply.
For example, the two fountains that stand at the end here are merely basins set within basins in an extremely simple fountain design. The designer of these fountains, Giacomo della Porta, worked at the behest of Pope Gregory XIII and created a simple, yet effective design in Porta Santa marble and Carrara. The fountains were originally designed to be plain and simple however this simplicity did not suit future generations who decided to embellish the fountains by adding figures to one of the sandstone fountains here.
In fact one of the architects of the additions was indeed the famous architect Bernini who was commissioned by the then pope’s sister to add some decoration to the fountain that stood in front of her palace. The figure of the Moor that was added was sculpted by Gianantonio Mari in travertine – the model for this figure was Bernini. To Romans, ever since the additions were made, this has become the Fountain of the Moor. The other remaining della Porta creation was originally known as the Fountain of the Scaldino after the vase that was placed in the center of the fountain. In recent centuries, however, the vase was replaced by a statue of the god, Neptune. Many people who have studied engravings of della Porta’s original work do feel that the changes that have been made over the years to the fountains here have been too fussy and elaborate and that they perhaps have detracted from the original simple effectiveness.
If you look to the middle of the piazza here you’ll see another Bernini fountain – the Fountain of the Four Rivers. This one was commissioned by Pope Innocent X. This structure is of great historical interest within the city as it has incorporated an obelisk that once stood in the Circus Maximus. You can also see the references to Pope Innocent X in the decorations of the olive branch and the dove, the arms of his family (the Pamphili family). There are also four river gods carved into this fountain representing four great rivers – the Ganges, the Nile, the Danube and the Rio de la Plata. This fountain – out of all the fountains he designed in Rome – is often held to be the greatest design Bernini ever created.