Fountain of the Tritons

Fontana dei Tritoni is a fountain in Rome that stands in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. The fountain was designed by Carlo Bizzaccheri and built in 1717 by order of Pope Clement XI. The fountain consists of a large shell carried by two tritons, mythological creatures that are half human and half fish. The tritons also hold the Pope's coat of arms, which contains an eight-pointed star and three bees. The fountain is made of travertine and was originally intended to supply water from the Acqua Felice aqueduct.

The construction of the fountain began in 1717 by will of Pope Clemente walls.

Author: Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri; Francesco Moratti; Philip Bai
Dating: 1717
Materials: travertine
Original supply: Felice aqueduct

Important renovation works on the square had just been completed, and the extension of the Acqua Felice pipelines allowed the construction of the monumental fountain and an adjacent fountain serving the citizens and herds of cattle passing towards the nearby Roman Forum.

The project, which is inspired by the Triton fountain by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is due to the architect Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri (1655-1721) who designed, in homage to the pontiff, a basin inspired by the eight-pointed star of the Albani family coat of arms. At the center of this rises a cliff adorned with tufts of vegetation, sculpted by Filippo Bai. Above the cliff, two kneeling tritons, with crossed tails, sculpted by Francesco Moratti (?-1719-21), support a shell valve acting as a basin, decorated on the sides with two monumental Alban coats of arms, and surmounted by a trimontium from which the gush rises.

According to the original project, "four groups, or masks" had been placed on the edges of the pool, removed in the 19th century due to lack of water. The same fate befell the nearby fountain, dismantled to be relocated not far away in the first decades of the following century, when the square was the subject of a new extensive arrangement

A very nicely designed fountain.