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Pope Alexander's Alterations
Several years later, in 1501, Pope Alexander VI commissioned his architect Alberto da Piacenza, to do something with the fountain in St. Peter's Square.
Since the only documentation now available consists of the brief records of payments made to the craftsmen, it is difficult to be sure of the extent of the Alexander's alterations, but there is no doubt that they were all of an ornamental nature. In fact, a third small marble basin was added at the top, which probably had four ox heads (from the Borgia coat-of-arms) made of gilded bronze around the outside. These would have poured water into the middle basin. The Pope's family crest was added in several other places. It was at this time too that the base was added to the fountain, along with the usual "horse trough."
Two experts on fountains had come specially from Viterbo to judge and see the work of Master Alberto. Along with their two horses, they spent two weeks in Rome to see Innocent's fountain, restored and embellished, newly inaugurated on December 16, 1501.
It was probably after the death of the Borgia pope -- who left behind neither a grieving populace nor an odor of sanctity -- that the four ox heads were replaced by cherubs pouring out water (a motif della Porta copied in his fountain at Ara Coeli). From then on, though still highly praised by tourists of all eras for the abundance of its water, this fountain remained more or less unchanged until Paul V. Now that Paul V's conduit had reached Rome, he decided to build a group of fountains in the area of the Borgo, which was still without running water.
In February 1614 we find a small group of "master masons" signing a contract with the notary in which they undertook the construction of several pipelines to convey water from the Belvedere Gardens in the Sacred Palace of the Vatican to St. Peter's Square where the display fountain for that water is to be made in the said square. The conduits should be straight and true and not bent and with no defect whatever. Moreover, the masons promised to finish the conduits and the work relating to their trade next Easter, the penalty for failure being 300 gold scudi.
That same day, before the same notary, another small group of stone cutters put their left hands to their breasts and swore to complete the big fountain at St. Peter's and the fountain at San Giacomo Scossacavalli by the middle of Lent. That is to say, by March. In fact, as usual, they were still working in August. The works director for the big fountain at St. Peter's and for the one in Piazza Scossacavalli nearby, which was built at the same time (and removed some time ago), was Carlo Maderno. After demolishing Pope Innocent's famous old fountain, he erected another of gigantic and most noble proportions which did not differ greatly from other fountains built in the past yet somehow managed to be completely distinctive.
In the center of a very wide, basically square pool, he erected a massive octagonal baluster whose sides were decorated with the coat-of-arms of Paul V and an inscription recording the year 1614. On top of this support, a large basin of Numidian marble collected the great flow of water running down from another basin higher up. This upper basin was one of the outstanding characteristics of this fountain, for it was upside down and its surface was covered with large scales. In the center of the large basin there was a small platform from which a great many jets of Aqua Paola spurted violently (at a pressure of 300 ounces) toward the upper basin.
