Fontana San Carlo alle Quatro. At a small intersection you will find on all four corners fountains from the second half of the 16th century. The two reclining female statues represent Juno and Diana, the male figure is the Nile and the other river god represents the Tiber. Other sources mention a depiction of loyalty and bravery. Two others all Quattro Fontane. The Sant'Andrea al Quirinale was Bernini's last building. He died two years after its completion. The San Carla alle Quattro Fontane, on the other hand, was Borromoni's first building as a master. buildings here are the church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale and the smaller church of San Carlo.
The complex of the Four Fountains was built under the pontificate of Sixtus V (1585-1590) to highlight the important crossroads on the Quirinal hill between the Strada Pia (today's Via XX Settembre and Via del Quirinale) and the Strada Felice (the current Via Quattro Fountains and Sistine).
The Strada Felice was opened by Sisto V himself to join the church of S. Croce in Gerusalemme with the Trinità dei Monti, passing through the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore
Author: Domenico Fontana (attr.), Pietro Berrettini da Cortona Dating: 1588-1593, 1667-69 Materials: marble, peperino, travertine, mortar, stucco, plaster Original power supply: Acquedotto Felice
The fountains were built at the expense of the owners of the neighboring land in exchange for free concessions from Acqua Felice. Muzio Mattei was responsible for the construction of two fountains, the one on the corner of his building (later owned by Albani Del Drago) and the one in correspondence with the future church of S. Carlino; Antonio Grimani, bishop of Torcello, built the one on the corner of the current Galloppi-Volpi palace, while Giacomo Gridenzoni the one on the corner of the future Barberini garden.
Erected in the characteristic wall type, the fountains consist of a semicircular travertine basin set against a niche that encloses a portrayed statue lying on its side in front of marshy backgrounds.
Two statues of river deities characterize the eastern side: on the corner of the Palazzo Mattei-Albani-Del Drago a bearded virile character accompanied by a lion probably depicts the Arno river, while the river deity with cornucopia and Capitoline she-wolf on the corner alludes to the Tiber of the church of S. Carlino. The two statues are inspired by the classical iconography of the marble giants of the Nile and the Tiber (2nd century AD) which in 1518 had been placed on the Capitoline Hill.
Two female figures, on the other hand, are placed on the cornerstones of the buildings on the opposite side. The one in the direction of the Barberini garden is associated with Pope Sixtus V due to references to his heraldic coat of arms: the trimontium, pears in his left hand, the stars and the lion's head which decorate the basin. A crescent moon in her hair (no longer clearly legible) and a crouching dog to her right suggested her interpretation as Diana. The other female figure, interpreted as Juno, is crowned and shows a crouching lion to her left. According to a different interpretation, the two figures should be read as Fortitude and Loyalty, symbolized respectively by the lion and the dog.
The four fountains have undergone numerous restorations over time, while the last radical transformation of the appearance of the crossroads took place in 1936 with the construction on the side of the Barberini garden of the building of the Roman Institute of Beni Stabili by Vittorio Morpurgo, which incorporated the fountain of Diana.