The Fountain Of The Four Rivers, Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy

 

Fountain of Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi), Rome, ItalyFountain Of The Four Rivers - 1589 to 1651

Piazza Navona in Rome is home to several decorative water fountains, the most famous of which is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or "Fountain of the Four Rivers". Located in the the center of the oval Piazza Navona this classic example of baroque architecture was designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X, who owned the Pamphili Palace, overlooking the Navona square. Inaugurated in 1651 the Four Rivers Fountain commemorates the Pope's redirection of water from the Acqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct, responsible for supplying much of Rome's water to the square in front of his family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili.

Bernini's fountain ingeniously incorporates an ancient Egyptian obelisk, which had been recovered from the Circus Maxentius in Rome, with a tall stone base. Set on the rocks are four large figures symbolizing the four great rivers of the four known continents of the world: The Danube in Europe, the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia, and the Plata for the Americas.

According to tradition Bernini carved the arm of the statue lifted up to protect itself from the imminent collapse of the church that had been enlarged and reconstructed by his great rival Borromini.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Model for the Four Rivers Fountain, Piazza Navona, Rome, c. 1650, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna Model of the Four Rivers Fountain;

This model, circa 1650, is an early study for the final design for the Four Rivers Fountain. The sculpted rock of the fountain base is represented with wood, and the one surviving figure, representing the Plata River, is modeled in clay. The design of the finished fountain differs slightly from that of the model: the circular form of the basin became an oval, and the openings in the rock were made more irregular.

In Baroque Rome, full of majestic architecture and buildings, many more fountains assuming original forms and spectacular dimensions were built, such as the Trevi Fountains,Rome, arguably one of the most visited sights of Rome. This world famous decorative water fountain is also Rome's largest fountain.