Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere
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, Rome, 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, with later additions by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Fontana. [1]
History
A fountain is believed to have stood in this square since the 8th century, but the exact date it was built is unknown.[2] 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, translated and finished by Saint Jerome 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. When the aqueduct was ruined during the invasions of Rome, water came from underground sources below the Janiculum hill. The old fountain illustrated in the drawing of del Massaio had two vasques, one above the other, pouring water into the basin below. [3]
The fountain was reconstructed between 1499 and 1500 on the command of Giovanni Lopez, the bishop of Perouse and Bishop of the parish of Santa Maria in Trastevere, who gave the commission to Donato Bramante, the architect of St. Peter's Basilica. Bramante removed the upper vasque and added four carved stone wolf heads, the emblem of the Lopez family.[4] It became the model for many other fountains in Rome.[5]
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. At that time the fountain was connected to the newly restored Acqua Felice aqueduct. In 1659 the fountain was connected to the Acqua Paola 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 four sculpted seashells around the basin. At the end of the 17th century, the architect Carlo Fontana replaced Bernini's seashells with his own sculpted seashells facing inward.[4]
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.[4] It was rebuilt once again in 1930. The last maintenance has been made in 1984.
While the piazza may be fairly quiet during the day, in the evening people gather around the fountain, sitting on the steps.
References
- ^ Maurizia Tazartes, Fontaines de Rome, pg. 48
- ^ Huyssteen, Justin van. "Famous Fountains in Rome – Rome’s Most Mesmerizing Fountains", artfilemagazine.com, July 6, 2023
- ^ Maurizia Tazartes, pg. 48
- ^ a b c "Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere", Turismo Roma, Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion Department
- ^ "Touring Rome’s Magnificent Fountains", Italy Magazine
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
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. ISBN 9781623710088.
Media related to Fountain of Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Fontana di Piazza Nicosia | Landmarks of Rome Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere | Succeeded by Fontanone di Ponte Sisto |
- v
- t
- e
landmarks
Triumphal arches | |
---|---|
Aqueducts | |
Sewers | |
Public baths | |
Religious |
|
Fora | |
Civic | |
Entertainment | |
Palaces and villae | |
Column monuments | |
Commerce | |
Tombs |
|
Bridges |
basilicas
- Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran
- Basilica of Saint Mary Major
- Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
- Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican
- S. Lorenzo fuori le mura
- S. Agnese fuori le mura
- S. Agostino
- S. Anastasia al Palatino
- S. Andrea delle Fratte
- S. Andrea della Valle
- S. Antonio da Padova in Via Merulana
- S. Apollinare alle Terme
- Ss. Apostoli
- S. Balbina
- S. Bartolomeo all'Isola
- Ss. Bonifacio ed Alessio
- S. Camillo de Lellis
- S. Carlo al Corso
- S. Cecilia in Trastevere
- Ss. Celso e Giuliano
- S. Clemente
- Ss. Cosma e Damiano
- S. Crisogono
- S. Croce in Via Flaminia
- S. Croce in Gerusalemme
- S. Eugenio
- S. Eustachio
- S. Francesca Romana
- S. Giovanni a Porta Latina
- S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini
- Ss. Giovanni e Paolo
- S. Lorenzo in Damaso
- S. Lorenzo in Lucina
- S. Maria Ausiliatrice
- S. Marco
- S. Maria degli Angeli
- S. Maria in Montesanto
- S. Maria in Cosmedin
- S. Maria in Domnica
- S. Maria in Aracoeli
- S. Maria del Popolo
- S. Maria sopra Minerva
- S. Maria in Trastevere
- S. Maria in Via
- S. Maria in Via Lata
- S. Maria della Vittoria
- S. Martino ai Monti
- Ss. Nereo e Achilleo
- S. Nicola in Carcere
- S. Pancrazio
- Pantheon
- S. Pietro in Vincoli
- S. Prassede
- S. Pudenziana
- Ss. Quattro Coronati
- S. Saba
- S. Sabina
- Sacro Cuore di Maria
- Sacro Cuore di Cristo Re
- Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio
- S. Sebastiano fuori le mura
- S. Silvestro in Capite
- S. Sisto Vecchio
- S. Sofia a Via Boccea
- S. Stefano Rotondo
- S. Teresa
- S. Vitale
- Arx
- Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi
- Castel Sant'Angelo
- Domus Internationalis Paulus VI
- Palazzo Aragona Gonzaga
- Palazzo Barberini
- Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari
- Palazzo Borghese
- Palazzo della Cancelleria
- Palazzo Chigi
- Palazzo Colonna
- Palazzo della Consulta
- Palazzo Farnese
- Palazzo Fusconi-Pighini
- Palazzo Giustinani
- Lateran Palace
- Palazzo Madama
- Palazzo Malta
- Palazzo di Giustizia
- Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne
- Palazzo Mattei
- Palazzo del Quirinale
- Palazzo Pamphilj
- Palazzo Poli
- Palazzo Riario
- Palazzo Ruspoli
- Palazzo Spada
- Palazzo Valentini
- Palazzo Vidoni-Caffarelli
- Palazzo del Viminale
- Palazzo Wedekind
- Palazzo Zuccari
- Villa Farnesina
- Villa Giulia
- Villa Madama
- Api
- Acqua Felice
- Acqua Paola
- Babuino
- Barcaccia
- Il Facchino
- Marforio
- Moro
- Nasone
- Navicella
- Neptune
- Nettuno
- del Pantheon
- Pianto
- di Piazza d'Aracoeli
- di Piazza Colonna
- di Piazza Farnese
- della Piazza dei Quiriti
- di Piazza Nicosia
- in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere
- di Ponte Sisto
- Quattro Fiumi
- Quattro Fontane
- Tartarughe
- Trevi Fountain
- Tritons
- Tritone
- Altare della Patria (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of Italy)
- Campo Verano
- Capocci Tower
- Column of the Immaculate Conception
- Conti Tower
- Hospital of the Holy Spirit
- Milizie Tower
- Sisto Bridge
- Spanish Steps
and public spaces
- Appian Way
- Campo de' Fiori
- Clivus Capitolinus
- Piazza Colonna
- Piazza d'Aracoeli
- Piazza del Popolo
- Piazza della Minerva
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Piazza Farnese
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza San Pietro
- Piazza di Spagna
- Piazza Venezia
- Via dei Coronari
- Via del Corso
- Via della Conciliazione
- Via dei Fori Imperiali
- Via Sacra
- Via Veneto
and zoos
art galleries
- Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Art Museum
- Capitoline Museums
- Casa di Goethe
- Doria Pamphilj Gallery
- Galleria Borghese
- Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna
- Giorgio de Chirico House Museum
- Galleria Spada
- Jewish Museum of Rome
- Keats–Shelley Memorial House
- MAXXI
- Museo Archeologico Ostiense
- Museo Barracco di Scultura Antica
- Museo Civico di Zoologia
- Museo delle anime del Purgatorio
- Museo delle Mura
- Museo di Roma
- Museo di Roma in Trastevere
- Museo nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia
- Museo Nazionale Etrusco
- Museo Nazionale Romano
- Museo Storico Nazionale dell'Arte Sanitaria
- Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome
- Museum of Roman Civilization
- Museum of the Ara Pacis
- Museum of the Liberation of Rome
- National Museum of Oriental Art
- Palazzo Colonna
- Palazzo delle Esposizioni
- Pigorini National Museum
- Porta San Paolo Railway Museum
- Santa Cecilia Musical Instruments Museum
- Venanzo Crocetti Museum
Seven Hills | |
---|---|
of Rome Capital