Home Page of the Fountain of Pope Julius
After examining this monumental fountain located at the corner of Via Flaminia and Via di Villa Giulia, the critic Francesco Milizia (1725 - 1798) ], who was well known for being hard to please, made the following criticism: "The first order [the type of columns] is designed in the Corinthian style and the second is Corinthian in some parts and Ionic in others. Who knows what architect could have dreamt up such a horror!" Indeed, if the fountain we see in front of us now were the work of a single artist then maybe it too would be a "horror". In fact, the two sets of columns, one on top the other, were intended to be different. The lower level, which is all in a hard volcanic stone called peperino, consists of three sections: the central one has two marble Corinthian columns on high bases flanking the fountain. At the top of this section are an architrave (lintel) and tympan (recessed triangle); the lines of the tympan were broken in 1750 in order to incorporate the coat-of-arms of Benedict XIV. Each of the side sections on the lower level has a pair of pilasters enclosing a large rectangular niche.
The upper level of the fountain, which is also divided into three sections, consists entirely of rows of bricks and looks almost cheerful when compared to the severity of the lower part of the monument. The two Ionic columns of the central section enclose two well rounded statues of the winged goddess Fama (Fame), standing one on each side of the Medici coat-of-arms of Pope Pius IV; beneath, set between two leonine herms (plinths with heads), there is a huge plaque commemorating Carlo Cardinal Borromeo; lastly, in each of the two side sections a window is surmounted by a blank shield and attractive festoons.
All in all, despite such a lack of harmony between the two orders (or perhaps because of it) and a certain air of neglect, it cannot be denied that the monument does have a rather noble and pleasing quality and, overall, is elaborate in a way that is quite out of proportion to the modest little fountain at its base.
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