This Fountain is known as the “Fontana delle Tartarughe” or the “Turtle Fountain.” It is located in Piazza Mattei just outside of the Jewish Ghetto. It was originally built in the late 1500s by Giacomo della Porta and sculpted by Taddeo Landini and was meant to be put in a close by piazza called Piazza Giudea, which held a market. Muizo Mattei wanted the fountain built in his piazza, Piazza Mattei, and was allowed to have it built there by committing to keep the fountain clean and paving the piazza.
The fountain was supposed to be made of marble but was changed and is made of bronze. It originally was designed to have four young men, known as “ephebes”, eight dolphins, and it contains a square base made of African marble. There are four shells of marble at the bottom and with the young men surrounding the middle of the fountain, who are holding up the dolphins. The dolphins were supposed to spout water into the shells where the water would flow into the basin.
The fountain is attached to the Acqua Vergine which had a problem with its water source and did not have enough pressure to spout water from the dolphins. As a result of this the dolphins were later removed and brought to another fountain. After the removal, the young men’s hands seemed empty as they are outstretched. In the 1650s Pope Alexander VII order to addition of the turtles and the fountain was named “Fontana delle Tartarughe.”
Works Cited
"Tortoise Fountain (Fontana Delle Tartarughe) -." ItalyGuides.it: Tortoise Fountain (Fontana Delle Tartarughe), Rome Italy. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
"Fontana Delle Tartarughe." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
The fountain was supposed to be made of marble but was changed and is made of bronze. It originally was designed to have four young men, known as “ephebes”, eight dolphins, and it contains a square base made of African marble. There are four shells of marble at the bottom and with the young men surrounding the middle of the fountain, who are holding up the dolphins. The dolphins were supposed to spout water into the shells where the water would flow into the basin.
The fountain is attached to the Acqua Vergine which had a problem with its water source and did not have enough pressure to spout water from the dolphins. As a result of this the dolphins were later removed and brought to another fountain. After the removal, the young men’s hands seemed empty as they are outstretched. In the 1650s Pope Alexander VII order to addition of the turtles and the fountain was named “Fontana delle Tartarughe.”
Works Cited
"Tortoise Fountain (Fontana Delle Tartarughe) -." ItalyGuides.it: Tortoise Fountain (Fontana Delle Tartarughe), Rome Italy. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
"Fontana Delle Tartarughe." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.