A Tourist in Rome - Fountain in Piazza Campitelli
Location: | 41.89297, 12.47978 Piazza Campitelli, on Via Montanara just off of Via del Teatro di Marcello |
Metro: | Colosseo or Circo Massimo and Bus #160, or see it on my To the Forum Boarium and Beyond Walking Tour instead |
Time: | about 10 minutes |
Cost: | Free |
Hours: | Viewable at any time |
The Fountain in Piazza Campitelli is a unique fountain with an unusual shape in a piazza that's convenient to get to near the Theatre of Marcellus. A flat platform just off ground level has a large pedestal in the center which contains two grotesque faces (one has donkey ears, see 1st photo below) and the coats of arms of six families residing in the area. That pedestal supports another flat platform, which holds a bowl-like basin on top of a decorated balister. Water sprays from the center of the basin, falls down out of the bowl, onto the upper flat platform. That platform and the pedestal which holds it have four flat sides but inwardly curving corners. The water falls off that platform onto a groove in the lower platform with the same shape. The masks on the pedestal resemble those on the Fountain of the Pantheon. The fountain was designed by Jacopo della Porta in 1589 and was originally placed in the center of the square, but moved to the edge of the square in 1679 because the nearby church complained about the noise made by people congregating around the fountain. When I visited the fountain, the water flow was barely present, but the fountain was still fun to see, especially since it was along my route.
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