Description
The Fountain of the Four Rivers is the great Baroque fountain by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, at the center of Piazza Navona, in front of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone. Four marble giants hold up an obelisk: it is the focal point of Rome's most theatrical square.
It was built between 1648 and 1651 at the wish of Innocent X, who wanted to beautify the square while building the family palace. The obelisk, from the time of Domitian, was found in 1647 in the Circus of Maxentius on the Appian Way, and unveiled on June 12, 1651.
The novelty is the hollow rock on which the obelisk seems to hang: a daring contrary to the canons of the time. From its openings animals of marble emerge, such as a lion, a horse, a serpent and a crocodile, among vegetation from every continent.
Each river is a continent. The Nile has its head veiled, because its sources were unknown; the Río de la Plata has coins scattered at its side, a symbol of America's riches; the Danube is Europe, and the Ganges Asia.
The statues were carried out by Bernini's collaborators: Fancelli the Nile, Poussin the Ganges, Raggi the Danube, Baratta the Río de la Plata. At the top of the rock is the Pamphilj coat of arms, with the dove holding an olive branch.
A silver model, a meter and a half tall, was given by Bernini to Olimpia Maidalchini, the powerful sister-in-law of the pope. And the competition for the fountain was hers, even though Borromini had brought the water to the square.
The Romans paid the bill: to finance the work the pope put a tax on bread and reduced the weight of the loaf.
The legend of the rivalry has the Río de la Plata raising his hand to protect himself from the collapse of Sant'Agnese. Too bad the church was begun later, in 1652.
The fountain was restored in 2009 and in 2021, to repair the damage of pollution and time: up close, the marble still shows the details of every muscle and every leaf.
It was built between 1648 and 1651 at the wish of Innocent X, who wanted to beautify the square while building the family palace. The obelisk, from the time of Domitian, was found in 1647 in the Circus of Maxentius on the Appian Way, and unveiled on June 12, 1651.
The novelty is the hollow rock on which the obelisk seems to hang: a daring contrary to the canons of the time. From its openings animals of marble emerge, such as a lion, a horse, a serpent and a crocodile, among vegetation from every continent.
Each river is a continent. The Nile has its head veiled, because its sources were unknown; the Río de la Plata has coins scattered at its side, a symbol of America's riches; the Danube is Europe, and the Ganges Asia.
The statues were carried out by Bernini's collaborators: Fancelli the Nile, Poussin the Ganges, Raggi the Danube, Baratta the Río de la Plata. At the top of the rock is the Pamphilj coat of arms, with the dove holding an olive branch.
A silver model, a meter and a half tall, was given by Bernini to Olimpia Maidalchini, the powerful sister-in-law of the pope. And the competition for the fountain was hers, even though Borromini had brought the water to the square.
The Romans paid the bill: to finance the work the pope put a tax on bread and reduced the weight of the loaf.
The legend of the rivalry has the Río de la Plata raising his hand to protect himself from the collapse of Sant'Agnese. Too bad the church was begun later, in 1652.
The fountain was restored in 2009 and in 2021, to repair the damage of pollution and time: up close, the marble still shows the details of every muscle and every leaf.