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The Fountain of Neptune in Rome: a wait of three centuries for its completion
The Fountain of Neptune stands at the northern end of Piazza Navona in Rome. Together with the Fountain of the Four Rivers and the Fountain of the Moor, it is one third of the water triptych created in the square. For centuries it remained devoid of sculptures: a bare basin in one of the city's most scenic squares. It was once called the Calderari fountain, after the copperware workshops that lined the nearby street.
A decoration left halfway
Pope Gregory XIII commissioned the fountain in 1574 from Giacomo Della Porta, shortly after the restoration of the Aqua Virgo and the construction of a branch of the aqueduct going towards the ancient Campo Marzio. The decoration of the Neptune fountain — with tritons and mascarons — was planned to be identical to its symmetrical counterpart, but was never carried out at the time. The only notable intervention came later from Bernini, who removed the original steps and railing and built a larger basin around the fountain.
Neptune’s arrival only in 1873
It took nearly three centuries, but in 1873 the Municipality of Rome held a competition to complete it. Antonio Della Bitta sculpted Neptune wrestling an octopus, and Gregorio Zappalà added nereids, sea horses, cherubs, and dolphins.
Practical info
The fountain is located in Piazza Navona, Rome.
