Discovering the Fountains of Rome

Did you know that Rome has 280 fountains?  When in Rome, you can’t help but notice the number of beautiful and artistic fountains co-existing with the ruins and unique attractions.  The fountains have been around since the ancient Roman times when water flowed freely from its aqueducts.  The sound of water flowing from the many fountains throughout the city was a soothing contrast to the traffic noise Rome is also famous for.

These ubiquitous fountains were also attractions in themselves. We actually saw a few during the day and at night – some planned, some by chance.  Seeing fountains at night gave them an ethereal glow and when illuminated in the right areas looked completely different.  These were a few of our favorite fountains in Rome.

The Trevi Fountain or Fontana di Trevi is Italy’s largest and is one of the world’s most photographed and visited fountain. This ornate fountain was huge at 85 feet high and 65 feet across. It was completed in 1762 as a final part of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct.  The centerpiece is an impressive statue of Neptune, god of the sea, on a shell-shaped chariot from which the water flows out. The two statues beside Neptune represent Abundance and Health.

I have longed to see the Trevi Fountain and settled for admiring the replica at Las Vegas’ Caesar’s Palace before this visit for many years.  Seeing this extraordinary work of art in person was an unforgettable and amazing experience.  It was too bad the crowd around the fountain didn’t seem to change during our visits in the morning and again late at night.  This was in late November a couple of years ago so I can imagine how crowded and difficult it is to take a decent picture in the summer months.

The Italian tradition/legend says that if you toss coins into the fountain over your shoulder, it will ensure your safe return to Rome someday. There was no mention of how much to throw in or if throwing more coins increases your chances or gets you back sooner.

You can bet we threw coins in to help us return to the Eternal City.  In fact, we threw in coins again during our nighttime visit just to be sure.  It was estimated by BBC News in 2006 that about 3000 euros were tossed into the fountain each day.  These are swept off and collected daily and donated to an Italian charity.

After staying at the fountain for awhile, people watching became entertaining.  It was amusing to see how visitors posed, to watch the men hustling to take tourist pictures and producing instantaneous souvenirs and to observe the various ways people toss the coins. Try it the next time you visit and you’d be surprised with this bit of diversion.

Piazza Navona’s Fountains
Piazza Navona is one of Rome’s most popular city squares, surrounded by many cafes and restaurants.  It was lively and filled with tourists, musicians, hawkers and artists and the sound of water flowing from the fantastic fountains provided nice background noise.

The main attraction and largest is the Four Rivers Fountain (Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi) created by famed Italian artist/sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.  The four figures depict a river from each continent known at that time – the Danube, the Nile, Ganges and the Rio della Plata.  A tall obelisk rises in the middle of the statues.

This was such a splendid masterpiece it had to be seen during day and night. It was amazing how water flowed from so many places within the sculptures. This particular fountain appeared to be more vibrant at night despite having less people around it.

Both fountains on each end of the piazza were designed by Giacomo della Porta.  The Neptune Fountain (Fontana di Nettuno) was located at the northern end. This fountain showed the sea god fighting an octopus and surrounded by sea horses and sea nymphs. I’m sure there’s an interesting story and meaning to these statues.

One advantage of seeing the fountains during the day is discovering the details you don’t clearly see at night.  The lighting in the piazza was a little low so it was wonderful to see them in all their glory during the day despite not getting an unobstructed view of the fountains.

The piazza’s southern end had the Moor Fountain (Fontana del Moro) which was built in 1575.  The rose marble basin is the foundation for four Triton (sea gods/merman) statues.

The central statue of an imposing Triton riding a dolphin which resembled a Moor was carved by Bernini in 1654 and looked more mysterious at night.  There was a different atmosphere coming here at night and was perfect for a pleasant evening stroll.

The Spanish Steps
Rome’s famous Spanish Steps is one of the most popular gathering places in the city for locals and tourists.  While we were there early in the morning, no one was sitting on the 137 steps.  It was quite a contrast to the many pictures we had seen where the stairs were barely visible with the crowd of people sitting on it.  The steps connect the French church of Trinità dei Monti at the top to the Spanish square (Piazza di Spagna) below.

At the foot of the steps is the modest looking Fountain of the Old Boat/Leaking Boat (Fontana della Barcaccia) designed by the famed Bernini’s father. It looked like a ship sinking halfway and wasn’t as lavish as the other fountains around the city.  The inspiration for the fountain is believed to come from a small boat that remained after it washed into the area from a flood in 1598.  We decided to skip a night visit on this one.

Some tourist attractions can also overshadow a nearby fountain.  The Fountain of the Pantheon was located in the middle of a piazza in front of the famous Pantheon.  The obelisk of Ramses II rises from the middle of the fountain with four dolphins around the base.  This was one of  the many obelisks found around Rome.  Rome also happens to have the most obelisks anywhere in the world.  We were so focused on entering the Pantheon we missed this big fountain the first time.

We occasionally stumbled on to fountains and thought they were interesting not knowing its significance until later.  This was Triton Fountain (Tritone) one of Bernini’s mastepiece in Piazza Barberini.  It was a lifesize Triton raising a conch shell and kneeling on dolphin’s tails.

The Vatican
Vatican City, home to the Pope, is the smallest independent state in the world located within Rome’s city limits.  A visit to Rome seems incomplete without exploring St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel within the city’s walls.  Two fountains adorn each side of St. Peter’s Square in front of the Basilica – the Maderno and the Bernini.  For some reason, we only have close-up pictures of the Bernini.  The Maderno is the older one and Bernini designed his to resemble it.

These pictures below have always been a couple of my favorites from Italy.  They were taken after attending evening mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, and the square was practically empty.  It was such a contrast to the massive crowd earlier in the day.  The fountains were glowing and was a stark reminder that some attractions were worth returning to at night.

Rome’s fountains are as part of the city as its ancient wonders and churches.  They have artistic value, are decorative and enhance the many squares around the city.  Many were wonderful tourist attractions with a few of them worth visiting during the day to see its creative features and under the glow of the moonlight.  It was amazing to see how revered these fountains were unlike many places we’ve visited.  Our kids weren’t with us during this visit so we hope those Trevi Fountain coins work their magic soon so we can return and show them these magnificent fountains too.

 *Have you visited any of these Roman fountains?  Do you prefer the daytime or nighttime shots of these fountains?

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