Roma - Fontane

Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere
Fontana della Piazza

According to tradition this is probably the oldest monumental fountain in Rome. It appeared in a map of the city in 1471 by Pietro de Massaio. The church of Santa Maria in Trastevere was originally known as Sancta Maria in fontibus. It is thought that the 1471 fountain, in the centre of which is a polygon-shaped basin placed on a base where two basins, one on top of another stand on balusters, was a restoration of a much older one. The couplet epigram inscribed on the plaque on one corner of the fountain dates back to the end of the fifteenth century thanks to a restoration by Cardinal Lopez (lupus). The life of this fountain, the only one found in a poor district, was marked by the lack of a continual and rich supply of water. Alessandro VII Chigi (1655-1667) finally increased their water supply from 5 to 36 ounces and moved the fountain to the centre of the square. The work was entrusted to Bernini in 1659. The upper part of the monument was not modified but the octagonal basin in the lower part was raised on steps and four double shells, then facing externally, the Chigi coats of arms and inscriptions to recall the restoration. But about thirty years later in 1692 Pope Innocenzo XII had it cleaned, probably increasing the capacity of the basin and moving the shells so that they faced inwards, almost as it to protect them. Finally, in 1873, the Municipality of Rome totally re-built the fountain in bardiglio marble instead of travertine but copying that of 1692.