Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Login or Signup

Get the App

Login or Signup

Discover
Places to see

Natural Monuments

Italy
Lazio
Rome

Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi)

Discover
Places to see

Natural Monuments

Italy
Lazio
Rome

Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi)

Highlight • Monument

Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi)

Recommended by 385 hikers out of 390

Save

Share

  • More

  • Save

    Share

  • More

  • Take Me There

    Routes here

    Best Hikes to Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi)

    4.8

    (57)

    686

    hikers

    1. St. Peter's Square – Colosseum loop from Ottaviano

    14.2km

    03:47

    150m

    150m

    Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

    Navigate

    Send to Phone

    Intermediate

    Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

    Intermediate

    Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

    Intermediate

    Tips

    January 2, 2023

    Beautiful fountain in Piazza Navona in Rome.

    Translated by Google •

      January 1, 2023

      The Fountain of the Four Rivers, designed and built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1680), is an unsurpassed baroque creation located in the center of one of the most important squares in the city.

      Author: Gian Lorenzo Bernini
      Dating: 1648 - 1651
      Materials: travertine, marble, granite, bronze
      Original power supply: Vergine aqueduct

      Commissioned by Pope Innocent together with the two side fountains in the seventies of the 1500s.
      In 1647 the pontiff entrusted Francesco Borromini (1599 – 1667) with the project of the new pipeline which was to bring 180 ounces of Virgin water to Piazza Navona and, at the same time, decided to transfer the obelisk (a Roman copy from the Domitian era) to the square, which it lay in pieces in the area of the circus of Maxentius on the ancient Appian Way.
      After completing a competition of ideas in which important artists of the time participated, the pope entrusted the task of creating the work to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who had presented a silver model of the new fountain
      At the center of a low elliptical basin, the fountain is imagined as a large travertine cliff, dug by a cave with four openings, which supports the granite obelisk. On the corners of the cliff are placed the monumental marble statues of the four rivers representing the continents known at the time, also identified by the vegetation and animals sculpted next to them: the Danube by Antonio Ercole Raggi for Europe, with the horse; the Ganges by Claude Poussin for Asia, with the oar and the dragon; the Nile by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli for Africa, with the veiled head (allusion to the unknown sources) associated with the lion and the palm tree; the Rio della Plata by Francesco Baratta for America with one arm raised - perhaps to protect himself from the rays of the sun represented by the obelisk - and next to an armadillo.
      On the upper part of the cliff there are two large marble coats of arms of the pope's family with the dove carrying an olive branch in its beak, and the same dove, in bronze, is placed at the top of the obelisk.
      The fountain was built between 1648 and 1651 by a large group of artists and workers directed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
      A masterful fusion of architecture and sculpture, the Four Rivers fountain expresses movement in every sculptural detail, from the vegetation, to the statues, to the fauna represented in the basin and on the cliff, becoming the fulcrum of the entire surrounding space.

      Translated by Google •

        January 2, 2023

        The Fountain of the Four Rivers (Italian: Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi) is a monumental fountain in the center of Piazza Navona in Rome. It was created between 1648 and 1651 by the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X and is considered a Baroque masterpiece.

        Translated by Google •

          Sign up for a free komoot account to get 14 more insider tips and takes.

          Sign up for free

          Details

          Informations

          Elevation 30 m

          Weather

          Powered by AerisWeather

          Today

          Thursday 23 October

          23°C

          13°C

          0 %

          If you start your activity now...

          Max wind speed: 11.0 km/h

          Most visited during

          January

          February

          March

          April

          May

          June

          July

          August

          September

          October

          November

          December

          Loading

          Location: Rome, Lazio, Italy

          Other Popular Places to Check Out

          View of Castel Sant'Angelo

          Explore
          RoutesRoute plannerFeaturesHikesMTB TrailsRoad cycling routesBikepacking
          Download the app
          Follow Us on Socials

          © komoot GmbH

          Privacy Policy