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Until 1730, the residents of the immense 15th century palazzo had been obliged to fetch water in buckets from the fountain in Piazza Venezia, located against the buildings of St. Mark's church. Not that there had been any reluctance to bring water to the palazzo, for as early as 1690 Alexander VIII had graciously donated "six ounces of Aqua Paola" but, perhaps rather carelessly, the spout was only provided about 13 years later (1703) and even then the water was not piped in.
In 1726, a brief manuscript by Benedict XIII gave instructions to "convert the gift made by Alexander VIII into a similar grant in perpetuity of six ounces of Aqua Vergine, even if this was of greater consequence and cost more per ounce." So it was that this time the water from the Trevi conduit actually arrived, though the work involved took "only" three and a half years.
In the meantime, the Venetian Ambassador Morosini, who lived in the palazzo and had taken so much trouble to obtain the water that was wanted, commissioned the sculptor and stucco worker Carlo Monaldi (who had already worked on St. Mark's church adjoining the palazzo) to build a fountain in the center of the courtyard. Monaldi was to be given "enough facilities to make and erect foundations suitable to the total perfection of the said fountain, on the lines of the above-mentioned model [i.e. 'representing the royal city on the Adriatic in the act of throwing the ring into the sea as a sign of authority'] and this to be done before the end of the month of February 1730 next; and should the deadline be reached before completion of the fountain then H. E. the Ambassador will have it finished at the entire expense of the said Monaldi and will also claim compensation."
Of the 1,120 scudi agreed in the contract, the artist received 620 in cash; the remaining 500 were to be paid by a unique kind of "bank draft:" the enterprising Ambassador Morosini undertook only to grant the obliging Monaldi "each and every pigeon that is retrieved from the public washhouse that is to be built in St. Mark's palace with the returns of the water from that same fountain."
The fountain must have been finished on time because, on May 13, 1730, the enthusiastic Ambassador wrote: "The fountain has been put up and corresponds in size, charm and decoration to the rest of the Palazzo, and I can say that I am very pleased with the work on the statues, and [my opinion] is confirmed by the praise for it received from everyone in Rome, for the whole city is rushing to see it."
So, though I doubt very much whether all the 18th century Romans crowded to queue up with "praise for it," the effusive Venetian Ambassador left us a delightful fountain that was later surrounded by palm trees and has now become a real oasis.
