THE FOUNTAINS OF ROME

The charm of the Eternal City is enriched by the roar of the waters of its many fountains characterized by a love for the theatricality of Baroque ancestry.

by Fabio Massimo Penna

The fountains of Rome have often been immortalized in film sequences. Among the most recent to appear on the big screen is the Fountain of the Turtles in Piazza Mattei, shot in a sequence from Anthony Minghella's film The talent of Mr. Ripley (1999). The work, created in 1581 by the sculptor Taddeo Landini on a project by Giacomo Della Porta , saw a restoration project led by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1658, probably responsible for the four turtles supported by the sculpted ephebes. Legend has it that the fountain was built in a single night by Duke Mattei to convince a father, reluctant to give up his daughter's hand, to consent to the marriage. This display of power persuaded the man of the convenience of accepting such a wealthy man as a son-in-law.

Thanks to Federico Fellini 's film La dolce vita (1960), the Trevi Fountain has become one of the symbolic places of Rome. Anita Ekberg in a long dress that plunges into the waters of the fountain has entered the collective imagination of contemporary society. The work of Nicola Salvi , an extraordinary combination of architecture and sculpture, is part of the tradition of fountains which in Rome has its apex in the Baroque masterpieces of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The Trevi fountain owes part of its charm to the contrast between its monumental dimensions and the small size of the square in which it is located, an expedient that creates a sensation of amazement in the visitor who overlooks the square from the narrow side streets. Leaning on the majestic facade of a building moved by niches with statues, half-columns and Corinthian pilasters, gabled windows, the structure also has a sound effect due to the water that flows between the statues and the fake rocky outgrowths. A dynamic whole that refers to the baroque theatricality that has so much weight in the aesthetics of the Eternal City.

The presence of Gian Lorenzo Bernini in Rome is impressive, widespread in the city. In San Pietro, with the colonnade of the square, the Cathedra in Gloria and the canopy over the tomb of St. Peter, in various points of the city with its unforgettable statues, from the Ecstasy of St. Teresa of the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria to the Monument to the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni of the Church of San Francesco a Ripa to architecture such as the Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale . Above all, the artist embellishes the city with its extraordinary fountains. The most famous is the Fountain of the Rivers in Piazza Navona, an authentic Baroque masterpiece. At the foot of a travertine obelisk Bernini places a base that simulates a cliff with its rocks and ravines, on which four colossal statues rest. These are the personifications of what were then the four most important rivers in the world: the Danube which represents Europe, the Nile which recalls Africa, the Ganges which recalls Asia and the Rio de La Plata which embodies the America. Emphatic gestures of the statues, fake caves and water games give the whole that baroque theatricality typical of Bernini's opera. The story between the Neapolitan artist and the Roman fountains is very early because as a young man he collaborated with his father Pietro in the construction of the fountain in Piazza di Spagna, the famous Barcaccia commissioned by Urban VIII. The work simulates a semi-submerged boat and in designing it the two Berninis have to overcome the problem represented by the low water pressure that prevented the creation of jets or waterfalls. The center of Piazza Barberini is occupied by the majestic Fontana del Tritone , yet another Bernini masterpiece, also founded on the mixture of naturalistic and anthropomorphic components with the statue of the sea god, resting on a huge shell supported by four dolphins, blocked in the act to blow into a shell from which water gushes. At the center there is the reproduction in travertine of the symbol of the Barberini family with bees. A few steps from there we find the insects symbol of the Barberini family in the fountain of the Bees , also by the great Neapolitan artist, a small structure designed to water the horses. The work is adorned with three bees under which three jets are placed.