Aqueducts and Fountains

There are 11 different aqueducts in Rome. These were built in the course of five centuries and were meant to supply the city with drinking water.

Of all the monuments and inventions that remain from the times of the Roman Emire, the aqueducts are among the most impressive. Even nowadays parts of northern Africa are still dependent on the 2000 year old aqueducts the Romans built in the area.

Most of the aqueducts in Rome have their end point at Porta Maggiore.

Rome’s most important aqueducts:

  • The Acquedotto Alessandrino is the most recent one of them all. It was built by the Emperor Alessandro Severo around the year 230 AD.
  • Nero’s Aqueduct (Acquedotto di Nerone) was built to supply the Domus Aurea with water.
  • The Acquedotto Marcio is 91km long, which makes it into one of Rome’s longest aqueducts.
  • Acquedotto Vergine: The Trevi Fountain and the fountains in Piazza Navona are even today dependent on this aqueduct.

The Trevi Fountain is the most famous fountain in Rome, and also one of the most famous fountains in the entire world. Altogether there are over 40 fountains worth mentioning in the Eternal City. The most beautiful ones are:

  • Trevi Fountain
  • Fountain of the Four Rivers: Bernini’s masterpiece on Piazza Navona.
  • Fontana del Tritone, on Piazza Barberini
  • Fontana dell’Acqua Paola, on the Gianicolo Hill
  • Fontana della Barcaccia, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps.

Fontana Paola

The Fontana Paola in Rome was commissioned by Pope Paul V Borghese and stems from the beginning of the 17th century. The Romans call it the Fontanone, which would mean something to the lines of the “Giant Fountain”. It is … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Bees

Apart from the more famous Fontana del Tritone there is another fountain near Piazza Barberini, which can be found at the beginning of the Via Vittorio Veneto, and like its more famous cousin was created by Bernini. The Fontana delle … Continue reading →

Cannonball Fountain

The Cannonball Fountain (Fontana della Palla di Cannone) can be found in the Viale della Trinità dei Monti in front of the Villa Medici, in Rome. The fountain was constructed in 1589 by Annibale Lippi, who built it for Cardinal … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Artists

The Fountain of the Artists (Fontana degli Artisti) is located in the Via Margutta in Rome, between the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo. The fountain is the result of a project created by the architect Pietro Lombardi and … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Porter

The Fountain of the Porter (Fontana del Facchino, in Italian) stands in the Via Lata, a side street of the Via del Corso, near Piazza Venezia in the center of Rome. There are various theories as to the symbolism of … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Jug

The so-called Fountain of the Jug (Fontana del Boccale) is located on the Via Nicola Zabaglia in the Testaccio neighborhood of Rome. The fountain and the jug are in the middle of a small semicircle on top of a brick … Continue reading →

Fontana dell’ACEA

The Fontana dell’ACEA is located in fromt of the ACEA (a water and electricity company) building in Rome and is one of the most recently constructed fountains in Rome. It was built in 1962, after a design by the architects … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Tortoise (Piazza Mattei)

The Fontana delle Tartarughe (Fountain of the Tortoises) in Piazza Mattei was built in 1581 and was designed by Giacomo della Porta. Originally the fountain was to have been placed in the Piazza Giudea in what used to be the … Continue reading →

Fontana dell’Acqua Acetosa

The Fontana dell’Acqua Acetosa can be found in the Piazzale dell’Acqua Acetosa, to the east of the Villa Ada park in Rome. The fountain as it can be seen today was constructed in the middle of the 17th century by … Continue reading →

Fontana del Tritone

The Fontana del Tritone (Triton Fountain) is rightly considered to be one of the most beautiful ones of its kind in Rome. It can be found on the Piazza Barberini and was built in 1643, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who … Continue reading →

Fountain of Piazza Sant’Andrea della Valle

The early 17th century fountain in the Piazza Sant’Andrea della Valle is one of Rome’s most centrally located fountains, in front of the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Trasportina, just off the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and near the Pantheon and … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Pinecone

The Fontanella della Pigna (Fountain of the Pine Cone) can be found inside the Vatican City, in the Cortile della Pigna (Courtyard of the Pinecone) in Rome. It is almost 4m tall and originally stood near the Pantheon, but in … Continue reading →

Fountain of Neptune (Piazza Navona)

The Fountain of Neptune (Fontana di Nettuno) is the fountain on the northern end of Piazza Navona in Rome and is not to be confused with the fountain of the same name in the Piazza del Popolo. It was designed … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Moor (Piazza Navona)

Fountain of the Moor

The Fountain of the Moor (Fontana del Moro) is one of three fountains that embellish the Piazza Navona in Rome, the other two being the Fountain of Neptune and the Fountain of the Four Rivers. It was built in 1574 … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Four Rivers (Piazza Navona)

The Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi) is one of three fountains that embellish the Piazza Navona in Rome, the other two being the Fountain of Neptune and the Fountain of the Moor. It was Pope Innocence … Continue reading →

Fountain of Piazza Trilussa

The Fontana di Piazza Trilussa is one of the most beautiful ones in Rome and can be found in the Piazza Trilussa on the Trastevere side of the Ponte Sisto bridge across the river Tiber. It was commissioned by Paolo … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Tureen

The Fountain of the Tureen (Fontana detta la “Terrina”) can be found in the rione Parione in the historical center of Rome. The Piazza della Chiesa Nuova is not the original site of the fountain, since it initially had been … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Amphorae

The Fountain of the Amphorae (Fontana delle Anfore) is found in the Piazza dell’Emporio in the Testaccio neighborhood of Rome. It was built in the 1920′s by the architect Pietro Lombardi who had won a competition that had been run … Continue reading →

Fountain of the Frogs (Piazza Mincio)

The Fountain of the Frogs (Fontana delle Rane) is located in the Piazza Mincio in the Coppedè quarter of Rome. It was built in 1924 and is thus one of Rome’s more recently built fountains. The architect is the man … Continue reading →

Talking Statues of Rome

The Talking Statues of Rome are otherwise known as the Congregation of Wits and from the 16th century onwards formed a way for Romans to anonymously criticize and make fun of the popes and politicians of the period. The first … Continue reading →