The Piazza Navonna was one of the most important areas in the entire city of Rome. The design of the Piazza Navonna was based off of the stadium of Domitian.
The water is supplied to these fountains from the Virgo. Basically, this supply means that the water pressure was not strong enough to create impressive jets of water, making their design compensate for this lack in water pressure.
The two fountains that sit at the ends of the piazza are very simple fountains, consisting of basins set within basins. Giacoma della Porta was the designer of these fountains, employed by Pope Gregory XIII. He worked to create simple fountains; however they were to simple for the newer generations who added figures to one of the sandstone fountains.
The architect Bernini was actually one of the designers that added the additions to the fountains. He was commissioned by the pope’s sister to add decoration to the fountain that stood outside of her palace. Gianantonia Mari sculpted the figure of the Moor that was added in travertine, and was modeled off of Bernini. This fountain has become the Fountain of the Moor to Romans ever since. The other fountain was originally referred to as the fountain of the Scaldino, for the vase that was set in the center of the fountain. That vase was replaced by the statue of the god Neptune. Many people feel that the additions to the original fountains have actually detracted from their beauty, especially when studying the intents of della Porta.
The Fountain of the Four Rivers, another Bernini creation, sits in the middle of the piazza. Pope Innocent X commissioned the creation of this fountain. This fountain has a particular interest historically within the city, as the obelisk that was incorporated into the fountain, once stood in the Circus Maximus. Reference to Pope Innocent is also found in the decorations of the olive branch and dove, which are the arms of his family. The fountain also features four river gods representing the great rivers- the Ganges, the Nile, the Danube and the Rio de la Plata. This is considered to be the best Bernini fountain, out of all the fountains he created.
