Terrina Fountain, Rome
The Terrina Fountain is one of the most unusual and interesting fountains in Rome. It should be noted that there are several thousand fountains in the Eternal City, including drinking, park, city, monumental and others, but among all this diversity the Terrina fountain remains an important part of the excursion routes around Rome.
History of Fontana della Terrina
The new fountain in Rome was built in 1582 by order of Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni. The author of the project was the famous Roman architect Giacomo della Porta. At the end of the 16th century, this master was commissioned a number of urban fountains, one of which was a project on the Piazza Campo dei Fiori.
Originally, the project of the Terrina Fountain was a large oval bowl made of marble and decorated on the edges with figures of four dolphins that spilled water from their mouths. It is worth noting that these dolphins previously adorned another gem of Rome – Turtle Fountain on Piazza Mattei, but because of the reconstruction they were replaced by turtles, and dolphins found a new home.
The fountain of Terrina is also distinguished by the fact that due to the weak pressure of water in this area the fountain had to be placed slightly below the ground level. The water flowed into the fountain from an ancient Roman aqueduct restored in the 16th century, which was named Aqua Virgo.
Since the beginning of the 16th century, one of the largest markets of Rome functioned on the square of Santa Maria in Valicella. At that time, the fountain was the only source of drinking water in the square, so market traders actively used it for personal purposes: preserving the freshness of fruits, vegetables, flowers and other procedures, resulting in water becoming unusable. The Vatican issued a decree that forbade such actions. For violators there was corporal punishment, but despite this fountain turned into an urn.
In 1622, Pope Gregory XV ordered to cover the cup with a marble dome, and dismantle bronze sculptures. The dome was adorned with the inscription: "Love the Lord and do not make mistakes, do good and speak freely. 1622 ", the author of these words is unknown. At this place the fountain worked until 1889, when it was decided to expand the area and remove the fountain. On the site of the fountain a monument to Giordano Bruno was built (he was burnt on this square in 1660).
Only 30 years later the fountain of Terrina appeared again on the streets of Rome – now on Piazza della Chiesa Nuova, next to the church of the same name, where it is located today.
How to get there
Piazza della Chiesa Nuova is located along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, near Piazza Navona and the Campo dei Fiori market. It is on the following public transport routes:
- Bus: No. 40, 46, 62, 64, 115, 870, 916, 982.
