Page 2: The Tureen Fountain & Campodei Fiori
To conclude, it would be possible, on the basis of these various documents (and I hope one day some conscientious Council employee will make the attempt) to reconstruct a gracious fountain on the lines of the original: an elongated pool at ground level (like those in Piazza Navona) that would echo the form of the oval basin sunk within it, with four slightly narrower areas towards the ends and the rim adorned with four dolphins spouting water. I am glad to say that this identical "boat-shaped" pool (which Jacopo was to use in another magnificent fountain, the one at Ara Cili) was repeated for the modern fountain in Campo dei Fiori, in memory of the old one. But why was the fountain disfigured by that lid in 1622? I don't think anyone will ever find a written record of the exact reason, but it isn't hard to understand when you remember that this square was "a place frequented by the sellers of animal fodder, that is to say a non-stop market". In addition, from the end of the 16th century onward it was the site of a goodly number of popular annual festivities, as we are told in this enigmatic yet eloquent notice dated 2 May 1587: "For the convenience of the poor and for the entertainment of the working classes, certain fun and amusement has been offered in campo di Fiore which, however, will remit to the Council 50 scudi per month without let or hindrance from any person". So, here we have a fountain in the middle of a square that was used for a market (as it still is today), the site of popular open-air dances and festivals, where the Council had contrived, with the single praiseworthy intention of raising the spirits of the poor and the working classes, to arrange for "certain fun and amusement" that just happened, at the same time, to bring in 50 scudi a month. Tell me then, how could this poor little fountain, set, moreover, at ground level, fail to be chock full of rubbish and "kids"? In the section on the fountain at Santa Maria in Trastevere I quoted one of those famous edicts on cleaning the fountains; here I must refer to another so that you can see how the Romans made use of their fountains. The edict of 12 November 1710 related to a certain group of fountains in which it was severely prohibited to "enter, dive in, throw in earth, rubble, stones, ashes, manure, dung, grass, bark or peelings, dirty or stinking water, rags, dead animals or other sort of refuse, nor to wash clothing, herbs, chicory, salad vegetables, grain, nor therein commit or perform any other kind of filth or refuse... Furthermore, it is expressly forbidden, on pain of fifty scudi and three lashes to be inflicted immediately in public, that coachmen, carriage drivers, barrow boys, donkey drivers and all or any other person whatsoever wash, or dare to wash coaches, gigs, barrows or anything else, or wash or clean the wheels thereof, or wash the feet of horses or other animals..." So that is why, despite the severe criticism and, perhaps, the "talking statues" to which the above-mentioned proverb was no doubt a response - in 1622 "the illustrious officers for the fountains" were obliged, against their will, to remove the four dolphins (though surely someone had already done it for them) and have that dreadful lid put on the basin. But, there are always two sides to the same coin and if the lid solved a great number of problems, at the same time it brutally stifled the good old early morning custom of watching crowds of sleepy coachmen and donkey drivers armed with brushes and buckets queuing around the fountain to "wash the feet of horses".
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