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The Fountain of Dolphins in Rieti: the Baroque Heart of the City and the Highest Point of the Sabina region
The Fontana dei Delfini stands at the centre of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, the main square in Rieti. It is here, at the highest point of the city — where the Roman forum stood in antiquity — that in the 17th century the “water show” for the new city aqueduct was positioned. Four dolphins support a central basin, set upon a curvilinear tank, also decorated with figures of satyrs; sadly, these are now mutilated.
A Troubled History
The fountain we see today is not the original one. In the mid-19th century it was completely renovated, and in 1865 relocated when the square was enlarged. In 1930, to make way for motor vehicles, it went into exile, moving to Piazza XXIII Settembre, in the Madonna del Cuore district, far from the heart of the city. It took nearly sixty years and a popular petition to bring it back to its rightful place, in July 1988, when the historic centre was finally pedestrianised.
The “Drawing Room” of Rieti
The square is where the main arteries of the centre meet — Via Roma, Via Garibaldi, Via Cintia — and where the 13th-century Palazzo Comunale and the historic Caffè Gengarelli and Caffè Quattro Stagioni are located. A short distance away, Piazza Cesare Battisti houses both the Romanesque cathedral and the Bishop's Palace.
