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The Pantheon Fountain: Renaissance Water at the Foot of Rome's Most Famous Temple
The Fontana del Pantheon stands at the centre of the Piazza della Rotonda, a few metres from the temple that Stendhal called "the finest remnant of Roman antiquity". It was created in 1575 by the sculptor Leonardo Sormani based on a design by Giacomo Della Porta, and was one of the first fountains of Renaissance Rome. What made it possible was the restoration of the Acqua Vergine aqueduct in 1570 — the same source that feeds the Trevi Fountain and the Barcaccia.
A Basin That Has Changed its Face
Of the original installation, only the curvilinear basin in grey African marble survives, with four circular arches decorated with masks bearing the heraldic dragons of Pope Gregory XIII. The steps and the balustrade disappeared in 1662, when the square as a whole was lowered. The mascherone faces visible today are 19th-century copies by Luigi Amici; the 16th-century originals are in the Museo di Roma.
The Obelisk That Came Later
In 1711 Pope Clement XI decided to raise the stakes: he had the Macuteo Obelisk transported from the nearby Piazza San Macuto — an Egyptian monolith of Ramesses II, over 6 metres high, brought to Rome under Domitian to decorate the Temple of Isis. The architect Filippo Barigioni raised it onto artificial travertine rockwork, with dolphins at the corners and the Albani coat of arms carved on the base.
