Related:
"Around The Historic City Centre"

Rome Tourist Guide Routes  

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, one of three fountains that adorn the Piazza Navona, stands between the Fontana del Moro to the south and the Fontana del Nettuno to the north. Of the three, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is doubtlessly the most unusual. Bernini, the artist responsible for designing the fountain, used human figures to represent four of the world's greatest rivers - the Danube, the Ganges, the Nile and the Rio de la Plata. The expressive quality of the figures is astonishing as are their almost perfectly rendered physical proportions.

The fountain underwent a meticulous and lengthy restoration process that was completed in 2004. The restoration returned the fountain much of its previous glory, allowing visitors to appreciate what a masterpiece it truly is. An amusing anecdote surrounds one of the figures; if you look closely, you will notice that the figure representing the river Nile is wearing a blindfold. Some claim that the blindfold refers to the fact that the Nile was considered a mysterious river at the time. Others, however, insist that the figure, which faces the Sant'Agnese in Agone Church, is blindfolded so as not to look upon the church, which was built by Bernini's great rival, Borromini. However, this latter tale is probably the work of malicious tongues since Bernini completed the fountain long before Borromini finished his work on the church's facade.