The Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is a fountain located in the square in front of the church of

Santa Maria in Trastevere The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere); en, Our Lady in Trastevere) is a titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy. It is believed to be the oldest fountain in Rome, dating back, according to some sources, to the 8th century. The present fountain is the work of

Donato Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance styl ...

, with later additions by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634 or 1638–1714) was an Italian architect originating from today's Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture. Biography There seems to be no proof tha ...

History

A fountain is believed to have stood in this square since the 8th century, but the exact date it was built is unknown. The fountain is first mentioned in documents dating to the second half of the 15th century. A drawing of the fountain appears on the map of Rome made by Pietro del Massaio in 1471, along with a description of the legend of the fountain's origin. According to the legend, which appears in the ''Chronicle'' of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

, translated and finished by

Saint Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

in the fifth century, on the night of the birth of Christ a fountain of oil appeared miraculously in front of the church, which as a result was given the name "Santa Maria in fontibus." The original fountain was supplied with water by a Roman aqueduct, the

Aqua Traiana The Aqua Traiana (later rebuilt and named the Acqua Paola) was a 1st-century Roman aqueduct built by Emperor Trajan and inaugurated on 24 June 109 AD. It channelled water from sources around Lake Bracciano, 40 km (25 mi) north-west of Rome ...

. When the aqueduct was ruined during the invasions of Rome, water came from underground sources below the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...

hill. The old fountain illustrated in the drawing of del Massaio had two vasques, one above the other, pouring water into the basin below. Maurizia Tazartes, pg. 48 The fountain was reconstructed between 1499 and 1500 on the command of Giovanni Lopez, the bishop of Perouse and Bishop of the parish of

, who gave the commission to

, the architect of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. Bramante removed the upper vasque and added four carved stone wolf heads, the emblem of the Lopez family. The fountain was reconstructed again in 1604 by the architect Girolamo Rainaldi, the father of Carlo Rainaldi, the architect of the two churches of

Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian language, Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the Populus, poplars (''populus'' in Latin language, Latin, ''pioppo'' in Italian) ...

. At that time the fountain was connected to the newly restored Acqua Felice aqueduct. In 1659 the fountain was connected to the

Acqua Paola The Aqua Traiana (later rebuilt and named the Acqua Paola) was a 1st-century Roman aqueduct built by Emperor Trajan and inaugurated on 24 June 109 AD. It channelled water from sources around Lake Bracciano, 40 km (25 mi) north-west of Rome ...

aqueduct and remodeled again by Bernini. Bernini replaced the octagonal basin, moved the fountain from its original place in front of the church to a new location in the center of the square, and added sculpted seashells around the basin. At the end of the 17th century, the architect

replaced Bernini's seashells with his own sculpted seashells. The fountain was completely rebuilt in 1873, following the design of Bernini and Fontana, but using less expensive materials. In that occasion, the main pool was rebuilt with bardiglio marble and an imposing S.P.Q.R. sign has been placed on the external side of the shells. It was rebuilt once again in 1930. The last maintenance has been made in 1984.

References

Bibliography

*Maurizia Tazartes, ''Fontaines de Rome'', (French edition translated from Italian), Citadelles & Mazenot, Paris, 2004 *Marilyn Symmes, Editor, Fountains - ''Splash and Spectacle, Water and Design from the Renaissance to the Present,'' Thames and Hudson, in association with Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, 1998.

External links

* {{Monuments of Rome Piazza Santa Maria in Trasteve Rome R. XIII Trastevere Seashells in art