Rome - Fountain of the Four Rivers Fontana dei Fiumi

There are three fountains in the square, the most notable being the Fontana dei Fiumi (1647-51), with which Bernini won the favor of Pope Innocent X. This is a masterly and spirited composition with a large basin from which emerges a rocky crag bearing an obelisk, surrounded by plants and animals. At the four corners are figures personifying the Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata - the rivers then believed to be the largest in the four known continents.

Each figure is accompanied by appropriate flora and fauna. According to a traditional Roman joke the Nile has his head veiled because the source of the river was not known, or alternatively - alluding to the bitter rivalry between the two famous architects, Bernini and Borromini - the Nile is covering his eyes to avoid seeing the structural defects in Borromini's church of Sant'Agnese, facing the fountain. The two other fountains in the square are the Fontana del Moro in front of the Palazzo Pamphili, erected by Giacomo della Porta (1575-76), and the 19th century Fontana del Nettuno with its figure of the sea-god.