{"id":33527,"date":"2025-07-31T19:27:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T17:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rome-roma.net\/piazza-navona-a-peak-of-the-baroque\/fountains-and-monuments-of-piazza-navona\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T19:39:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T17:39:51","slug":"fountains-and-monuments-of-piazza-navona","status":"publish","type":"site","link":"https:\/\/www.rome-roma.net\/en\/piazza-navona-a-peak-of-the-baroque\/fountains-and-monuments-of-piazza-navona\/","title":{"rendered":"Fountains and monuments of Piazza Navona"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three very beautiful fountains are located in Piazza Navona, including the Baroque masterpiece of the Fountain of the Four Rivers<\/strong> at the center created by Bernini in the 17th century, on which stands the large obelisk.
This page is dedicated to all the monuments on the square, also including the Moor Fountain<\/strong>, the Neptune Fountain<\/strong>, the Pamphilj Palace<\/strong> and the churches of Saint Agnes in Agone<\/strong> and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart<\/strong>.
\u2192 See also the article on Piazza Navona<\/a> for a general overview and its history.<\/p>\n

\n

Fountain of the Four Rivers<\/h2>\n

At the center of the square, the Fountain of the Four Rivers<\/strong>, created by Bernini<\/strong>, was inaugurated in 1651. It supports an Egyptian obelisk, surrounded by the statues personifying the Ganges<\/strong>, the Rio de la Plata<\/strong>, the Nile<\/strong>, and the Danube<\/strong>. It is one of the most beautiful Baroque monuments in Rome.<\/p>\n

\"fontaine-des-quatre-fleuves-place-navone-rome_3390\"<\/a>

Fountain of the Four Rivers<\/p><\/div>\n

Its construction was initiated under Innocent X in 1647 to replace a simple rectangular basin that served as a horse trough. To this end, a dedicated conduit was built from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct to supply water.
The initial project was to be entrusted to Borromini<\/strong>, but it was his rival Gian Lorenzo Bernini<\/strong>, known as Bernini, who was ultimately chosen, even though he was in disgrace with the pope. Bernini had approached Donna Olimpia<\/strong>, the powerful \u201cmistress of Rome,\u201d the pope\u2019s sister-in-law and a \u201cclose\u201d advisor, gifting her a silver model of his fountain project. The pope supposedly \u201caccidentally\u201d came across the model and was delighted by it.
The construction cost was so high that the pope raised taxes on bread and wine. Romans, who already disliked Donna Olimpia, hated her even more, blaming her.<\/p>\n

The addition of the obelisk<\/strong> was a papal requirement, after he saw it lying among the remains of Domitian\u2019s stadium along the old Appian Way during a visit to Saint Sebastian in April 1647.
The name of Domitian inscribed in hieroglyphs on the monolith indicates that it formerly stood in the \u201cTemple of Isis\u201d located on the Field of Mars.
This Agonale Obelisk<\/em><\/strong>, 16.54 meters tall, was erected on a base on August 12, 1649. The monolith symbolizes divine power descending like a solar ray and radiating in four directions through the four rocks which might evoke chaos.<\/p>\n

The four white marble statues are five meters tall, installed on the four protruding travertine rocks surrounding the obelisk.
The Nile<\/strong> is the work of Giacomo Antonio Fancelli<\/strong>, remarkable for the veiled head, reminding that the source of the river was still unknown. However, the people liked to interpret it as Bernini\u2019s disdain for his rival Borromini, the architect of the neighboring church of Saint Agnes in Agone. By the same rumor, the raised arm with the hand in a protective gesture of the Rio de la Plata<\/strong> was meant to mock Borromini by expressing fear that the church might collapse. However, the fountain was completed long before the church was even started, which discredits this popular version.
That statue of the Rio della Plata is by Francesco Baratta<\/strong>, the Ganges<\/strong> is by Claude Poussin<\/strong>, and the Danube<\/strong> is by Antonio Raggi<\/strong>.
On the rock is the coat of arms of the Pamphilj family\u2014a dove carrying an olive branch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t