THE GREAT BERNINI: FONTANA DEI QUATTRO FIUMI IN PIAZZA NAVONA - ROME. Piazza Navona. Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi). Project by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Travertine and marble. (1648-1651). In the center of Rome’s most beautiful square, Piazza Navona, stands the spectacular Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, commissioned by Pope Innocent X Pamphilj from the great Gian Lorenzo Bernini and which constitutes the artist’s greatest achievement in this genre of companies. In Baroque Rome, the fountains became a reflection of the liberality attributed to papal families. In Piazza Navona, the former stadium of Emperor Domitian, were the palace of the Pamphilij and their family church, Sant’Agnese in Agone. Innocent wanted to endow his palace and church with a square worthy of the ancient emperors. He first decided to erect an obelisk as the central axis of the square, recalling the old stadium, together with a fountain and for this project dismissed out of hand Bernini, who had fallen out of favor because of his close association with the Barberini, previous papal family, and whom the Pamphilj abhorred. But the cunning Bernini got the pope to see his model of the fountain, a model he had given to the pontiff’s sister-in-law, the all-powerful Olympia Maidalchini, which she placed in one of the rooms of the family palace. When Innocent saw the model he immediately made the determination to start the works, claiming, it is said, that the only way to discard Bernini was not to see his projects. And so Piazza Navona provided Bernini with the opportunity to pay tribute to the pontiff in his dual role as religious leader and secular prince. The fountain consists of a base formed by a large elliptical pool of low height so that the viewer always saw the water, to which is added a kind of mountain with grotto, inspired by the landscape art of the gardens of Roman villas. Above this structure rises an Egyptian obelisk crowned with a dove with an olive branch in the beak, heraldic symbol of the Pamphilj family. This combination between source and obelisk was a novelty, as it had not been used before. In this kind of travertine mountain, four giant allegorical figures stand out next to trees and plants emerging from the water. The figures epitomize the four largest rivers in the world representing these, in turn, each of the four continents and were sculpted by eminent Bernini disciples. The Nile (Africa), by J. A. Fancelli, covers his face wanting to represent that the sources of the birth of this river were unknown. The Danube (Europe) sculpted by A. Raggi, admires the heraldic shield of the promoter of the work, Pope Innocent X Pamphilj. The Ganges (Asia) carved by C. Poussin, holds an oar referring to its status as a navigable river. Finally the Río de la Plata (South America) chiseled by F. Baratta, we are shown tossing coins to symbolize the precious metal wealth of America. The allegorical figures of the rivers, represented as in Antiquity in the manner of the Olympic gods, show vigorous attitudes that establish relationships between them while responding to the obelisk as a symbol of light and divine inspiration. Bernini, to enhance the obelisk, devised this irregular travertine base that raises the Egyptian monument above a central void and serves as a background for the magnificent marble statues. Gian Lorenzo reserved the revision, not the carving, of the rock travertine, and of the animals. Each river is accompanied by its respective attribute: a horse for the Danube, a lion for the Nile, a palm tree for the Ganges and an armadillo for the Río de la Plata. It should be noted that the four continents, represented at the source by their great rivers, had recently been added to the artistic allegory and were usually invoked as an expression of the universal domination of the Church and Empire. Behind the suggestive compositional approach, iconologists have seen a cosmic symbolism that refers to Bernini’s frequenting of the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher, a collector and Egyptologist, much appreciated by Pope Innocent X Pamphilj, who commissioned a study on the obelisk that was to crown the fountain. Kircher attributes to the obelisk a hermetic value, as a vehicle through which the divine essence is transmitted to the four continents. However, there are many hermetic symbols used by Bernini that find no explanation in the study of Jesuit, leaving the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi wrapped in a halo of mystery. Other authors defend the possibility that the idea of the whole was drawn from an ancient Christian approach on "the origin of the great fertilizer rivers of the four continents in a mountain" wanting to represent the idea of "the center of the world". On the other hand, we find crowning the obelisk the dove, which is the emblem of the Pamphilj family, that is, the family of Innocent X, so it could represent the symbolism of the Pope’s rule over the four continents. And the dove is in turn also a representation of the Holy Spirit, whose grace is poured out everywhere, spreading divine love on the Earth. The fountain was officially opened on June 12, 1651. Pope Innocent arrived in the square with all his cardinals and papal entourage to bless the work. When they removed the cloth that concealed the fountain, they all admired the traces of the work, but were disappointed because not a single drop of water flowed from the fountain. Some thought this fatality was due to a ruse by supporters of Borromini, Bernini's avowed enemy. The pope, extremely upset, turned around and at that moment, Bernini turned on a hidden key and the water began to flow with great thunder. Innocent turned when he heard the rumble, seeing the Acqua Vergine falling from the four fountain dumps. He was stunned to see such a spectacle and they say he told the artist: “Knight Bernini, it is so much joy that you have given us with your work that I believe you have given us ten more years of life.” Bernini, pleased, knelt and kissed the pope's ring saying with false modesty and obvious adulation: “My fame and my glory will only reflect yours, Holiness.”

Friendly Tour - A rather mellow and short adventure, but very much worth the money. Our guide is very familiar with the history and was able to fit as much as possible in the 90min tour. She was gracious enough to give directions to go to the Vatican on our own after.

Great tour - Great tour for the price. Our guide, Michael, was excellent, providing the history as well as current events.

Incredible Rome - What an incredible experience! It goes without saying that Rome doesn’t have to work hard to impress, however, the knowledge of the tour guide I had was the icing on the cake. She went above and beyond, providing snippets of tips and tricks that I would not have known otherwise.

Lovely waking tour of Rome - Our tour guide Brigitte, I’m not sure I spelled that correctly, was amazing and very knowledgeable. She was fun and not boring at all.

Great informative tour! - Another great tour with an amazing Tour Guide. It really enriched our experience! Highly recommended!

Lovely tour - Very nice tour....our tour guide Claudia was magnificent...i would like to enter to pantheon but next time...thank you for all...

Love the history! - Great quick tour of amazing sites! Our guide was knowledgable and our group size was great to get through busy Rome.

Our tour guide was... - Our tour guide was knowledgeable and easy to listen to throughout the experience. She appeared passionate about her job and made our excursion fun.

Walking Rome - Put your comfortable walking shoes on! It was basically walking around (90min) and seeing from outside some of the major sites with a guide telling you history. Have to go back after tour to go inside to see like museum and Parthenon. Trevi fountain can view, but we’re a lot of people.