Fontane di Piazza Farnese
| Fontane della Piazza Farnese | |
|---|---|
| Fountain | |
 One of the two fountains in Piazza Farnese | |
| Location | Rome |
Interactive map of Fontane della Piazza Farnese | |
| Coordinates: 41°53′41″N 12°28′15″E / 41.89472°N 12.47083°E | |
The Fontane della Piazza Farnese are two identical decorative fountains located in the Piazza Farnese, in front of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, Italy. They were placed in the Piazza in the 16th century.
History
The granite stone basins of the fountains are believed to come from the ancient Roman Baths of Caracalla. The emblems on the upper part of the fountain are those of the Farnese family, and the builder of the Palazzo, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III.
A second basin—virtually identical to the previous one and likely of the same origin—was also located in Piazza San Marco, likewise from 1466 onwards. Some forty years after installing the first one, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese managed to acquire the second in exchange for a smaller one and moved it to the square in front of his palace, placing both in the positions currently occupied by the fountains. Since the great "Acqua Vergine" aqueduct was under construction at the time, it is likely that the cardinal already intended to create a pair of fountains and wanted to have the basins ready in anticipation of the conduits eventually bringing water to the square.
The two fountains differ in only a few details: the northern one is slightly smaller and better preserved than the other, with signs of restoration visible particularly on the lion heads; the other, by contrast, does not appear to have undergone later alterations and is therefore closer to its original form. However, it required restoration in 1938–39, while a further intervention involving both fountains was carried out in 1992–93. The last intervention, on the southern fountain alone, took place in 2007.
See also
References
- Michael Wittmer; Wilhelm Molitor (1866). Rom: ein Wegweiser durch die ewige Stadt und die römische Campagna. Pustet. p. 87.
External links
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. ISBN 978-1-62371-008-8.
Media related to Fountains in Piazza Farnese (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Fontana di Piazza Colonna |
Landmarks of Rome Fontane di Piazza Farnese |
Succeeded by Fontana della Piazza dei Quiriti |