Fountain of Pius IX on Lungotevere Testaccio, Rome

The Fountain of Pius IX on Lungotevere Testaccio in Rome is located in the center of the city on a street along the Tiber River. Archaeologist Pietro Ercole Visconti conducted excavations on the territory of the docks of the ancient river port. There were found the remains of walls and other architectural details of marble, which remained under the mud of the Tiber for many centuries. In memory of this event, Pope Pius IX initiated the construction of a fountain on the Lungotevere Testaccio in 1869, commanding the use of the found ancient marble for the construction.

The construction of the fountain: water flows from the head of a lion into a tank made of a Roman marble sarcophagus. All the details are fastened on a brick wall, crowned with a Latin quote, narrating about the history of the fountain. At the top of the composition there is the coat of arms of the pontiff with lions and weapons.

In the 1920s, during the construction of the last section of the wall on the Tiber River, the fountain was reassembled, and it was installed in a wall towards the river.

How to get there

The Fountain of Pius IX on Lungotevere Testaccio lies along the Tiber River, in the center of Rome. The nearest stop: L.go Marzi, through which buses № 170, 719, 781 run.