The Fountain of the Tritons (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Fontana dei Tritoni'') is a fountain in

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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), Piazza Bocca della Verità, in front of the basilica of

Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin or ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa. History According to Byzantine historian Andrew Ekonomo ...

. This fountain should be distinguished from the similarly named nearby

Triton Fountain Fontana del Tritone (''Triton Fountain'') is a seventeenth-century fountain in Rome, by the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Commissioned by his patron, Pope Urban VIII, the fountain is located in the Piazza Barberini, near the entrance to ...

(''Fontana del Tritone'') by

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

, in the

Piazza Barberini Piazza Barberini is a large piazza in the ''centro storico'' or city center of Rome, Italy and situated on the Quirinal Hill. It was created in the 16th century but many of the surrounding buildings have subsequently been rebuilt. The current ap ...

, with only a single Triton.

History

Roma Rione Ripa Fontana dei Tritoni Tempi di Ercole Vincitore e Portunus

The building, starting from 1610, of the last Roman aqueduct, the ''Acqua Paola'', didn't move to the background the two aqueducts built just a few years before (the ''

Aqua Virgo The Aqua Virgo was one of the eleven Roman aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome. It was completed in 19 BC by Marcus Agrippa, during the reign of the emperor Augustus and was built mainly to supply the contemporaneous Baths of Agrip ...

'' in 1570 and the ''Acqua Felice'' in 1587), which gave the possibility to erect new fountains on the branches that guaranteed a more widespread distribution of water in the whole town. A secondary branch of the ''Acqua Felice'' reached the area south of the

Tiber Island The Tiber Island ( it, Isola Tiberina, Latin: ''Insula Tiberina'') is the only river island in the part of the Tiber which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately ...

: here, between ancient and middle-age monuments (the

Arcus Argentariorum The Arcus Argentariorum (Latin: ''Arch of the Money-Changers''; in Italian: ''Arco degli Argentari''), is an ancient Roman arch that was partly incorporated in the seventh century into the western wall of the nearby church of San Giorgio al Velab ...

, the

Arch of Janus The Arch of Janus is the only quadrifrons triumphal arch preserved in Rome. It was set up at a crossroads at the northeastern limit of the Forum Boarium, close to the Velabrum, over the Cloaca Maxima drain that went from the Forum to the River ...

, the

Temple of Hercules Victor The Temple of Hercules Victor ('Hercules the Winner') ( it, Tempio di Ercole Vincitore) or Hercules Olivarius ((Hercules the Olive Branch Bearear) is a Roman temple in Piazza Bocca della Verità in the area of the Forum Boarium near the Tiber in ...

, the

Temple of Portunus The Temple of Portunus ( it, Tempio di Portuno) or Temple of Fortuna Virilis ("manly fortune") is a Roman temple in Rome, Italy, one of the best preserved of all Roman temples. Its dedication remains unclear, as ancient sources mention several te ...

and the basilica of

)

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

ordered the construction of a monument in his own memory. It is not so clear indeed why the pontiff chose to erect a fountain in an area that was scarcely inhabited, broken-grounded and subject to the floods of river

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

. In fact, its fulfillment raised many criticisms for the location believed to be unhappy. The fountain was completed in 1715 by architect Carlo Francesco Bizzaccheri, during the works for the accommodation of the square in front of the basilica. The whole

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

structure is placed on a circular step (delimited by 16 little columns joined by a grating), within which the design of the main basin represents an octagon with concave sides, or rather the eight-tips star that was the

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

symbol of the family of the Pope, the Albanis). In the centre there is a group of rocks (an element that had become popular after the success of the

fontana dei Quattro Fiumi Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (''Fountain of the Four Rivers'') is a fountain in the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy. It was designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced onto the piazza as ...

) with bushes on which two Tritons (due to Francesco Moratti) are knelt with clinged tails and raised arms, sustaining on their shoulders a big oyster shell serving as upper basin. Between the two Tritons there is the coat of arms of the pontiff. Four mascarons formerly dumped water into the main basin; they were removed in the 19th century, probably due to the scarcity of the incoming water, that could have left them dry. In fact the fountain has been without water for a long time, but the hydric provision, though quite scarce, has been restored. The last restorations date back to 1994-1995 and 2010.

Bibliography

*Sergio Delli, “''Le fontane di Roma''”, Schwarz & Meyer Ed., Roma, 1985

References

External links

The fountain of Piazza Bocca della VeritàThe Fountain of the Tritons in Piazza Bocca della Verità
{{Monuments of Rome Tritons Cultural infrastructure completed in 1715 1715 sculptures Rome R. XII Ripa Sculptures of Triton (mythology) Seashells in art