Roma, City of Fountains

Rome is also known as a city of fountains. There are about 2000 fountains in Rome. The most famous and biggest one is Fontana di Trevi. Nowadays fountains are the nice decoration for the city, however, in the old days public fountains were served as important sources of water and monuments to the papal patrons.

Fontana del Tritone

In the Piazza Barberini, Rome, there is the famous Triton Fountain, which is designed by Baroque sculptor Bernini under the mission of Pope Urban XIII. The fountain is the illustration of the triumphant passage from Ovid's Metamorphoses book.

"Already Triton, at his call, appears

Above the waves; a Tyrian robe he wears;

And in his hand a crooked trumpet bears.

The sovereign bids him peaceful sounds inspire,

And give the waves the signal to retire.

His writhen shell he takes; whose narrow vent

Grows by degrees into a large extent,

Then gives it breath; the blast with doubling sound,

Runs the wide circuit of the world around:

The sun first heard it, in his early east,

And met the rattling ecchos in the west.

The waters, list'ning to the trumpet's roar,

Obey the summons, and forsake the shore." (wikipedia)

Fontana di Trevi

Trevi Fountain, constructed in 18th century, is the largest Baroque fountain in Rome. Oceanus, the personification of a immense river that flows around the earth and from which all strams of water derive, is standing in the middle. Tritons guide Oceanus' shell chariot, taming hippocamps.

Fontana dei Tritoni

The fountain of Tritons is located in the Piazza Bocca della Verità in front of the basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. There are two Tritons kneeing down on rocks and holding up a star-shaped basin with a mountain inside it.

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune)

 Fontana del Moro (Moor Fountain)

There are three fountains of Piazza Navona. In the middle is the Fountain of Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi). With rocks as its base, there are Four River Gods standing towards four directions with an Egypt obelisk in the middle. In the north part of Piazza Navona is the Fountain of Neptune, while the Moor Fountain is on the southern part.

Here is only a small part of 2000, let's discover others later on.