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September 2, 2011 · 6:27 am

Rome’s Fountain of the Moor in Piazza Navona

Image via Wikipedia

It has just come to my attention that someone has vandalized the Fountain of the Moor with a large rock after I wrote this blog post. My heart is broken–why would anyone do this? Someone was doing research on the Fountains in Rome and notified me of this incident. I found this report on Google and wanted to share it with you. Fortunately they caught the vandal on tape. The objects that he damaged were actually copies instead of the original:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8742348/Rome-fountain-vandal-caught-on-CCTV.html

I love the Fountains in Piazza Navona. The Fountain of the Moor or Fontana del Moro is located at the southern end of elliptical shaped Piazza Navona. It has a basin with four Tritons sculpted by Giacomo della Porta in 1575. In 1673, Bernini designed and added the statue of a Moor (African) with a spouting fish. The vigorously twisting Moor is standing on a conch and wrestling with a dolphin in the center of the fountain.

Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585) envisioned an ambitious plan to erect fountains in all of the main squares in Rome. Before Rome’s fountains were built, Roman’s drank water from the Tiber River. The river water was collected upstream and stored for a number of days by vendors called Aquarenari.

The fountains that were originally designed at the north and south end of the Piazza were separated by an enormous drinking trough for horses in the center of the square. Bernini‘s Fountain of the Four Rivers replaced this area. The fountain for the horses was subsequently moved to the Giardino del Lago in the Villa Borghese.

The Moro fountain was completed in 1575 and was originally adorned with decorations designed by Giacomo della Porta. These were transferred to a small square in Villa Borghese and the original masks and Triton figures were substituted with copies made by Luigi Amici in 1874.

The central figure in the fountain depicts a Moor wrestling with a dolphin by Antonio Mari. Mari sculpted this in 1654 using Bernini’s design. Bernini was responsible for the pool around the fountain basin using a plan designed by Borromini. Francesco Borromini was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture.

Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Italy Travel Guides. To learn more about Rome visit www.vino-con-vista.com

Fountain in Rome’s Piazza Navona Vandalized (abcnews.go.com)

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Filed under Ancient Rome, Bernini, Boromini, ebooks, fountains in rome, Italian Architecture, Italian art, Italy, Italy Travel Guides, Rome Italy

Tagged as Bernini, Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Fontana del Moro, Fountain, FOuntain of the Moor in Piazza Navona in Rome Italy, Francesco Borromini, Giacomo della Porta, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Gianlorenzo Bernini, Italy, Piazza Navona, Rome, Tiber River, Villa Borghese

May 23, 2010 · 2:37 pm

My Favorite Hotel on the Via Venato: The Majestic Hotel in Rome

: Image by Shirley de Jong via Flickr

I love the Hotel Majestic in Rome. It has a great rooftop restaurant where they serve a delightful buffet breakfast and you can enjoy the sumptuous Vino con Vista views.

I love the first floor bar with autographed photos of rock stars and legends that have stayed at the hotel including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Madonna. Jimmy Hendrix and Whitney Houston.

Frank Sinatra in "From Here to Eternity"

Frank Sinatra at the Majestic Hotel in Rome

It’s located on the Via Venato just steps away from Piazza Barberini with two Bernini fountains: The large Fontana del Triton is pictured at the top of this post (1622) and the Fontana delle Api (1627) is shaped like a shell and covered with Barberini bees. The elegant hotel is within walking distance of the Villa Borghese where you can admire many of Bernini’s sculptures at the Villa. It is also close to the top of the Spanish steps.

The lobby and guestrooms are furnished with elegant antiques and the service is impecable. The hallways are filled with framed photos of the filming of the movie “La Dolce Vita”.

You don’t even have to tell the people at the front desk your room number when you pick up your key because they remember your name. They also appreciate an update on all the great tourist spots you racked up in Rome. They were able to get me tickets to the Carravagio Exhibition and were thrilled to know that I write travel guides about Italy.

Madonna

To learn more about Rome read www.vino-con-vista.com Travel Guides and

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Bar in the Hotel Majestic with the signed Autographs

My favorite Bob Dylan lyrics are “Go away from my window-leave at your own chosen speed. I’m not the one you long for–not the one you need”. Do you remember that one? Check out the live version of “It Ain’t Me Babe” on YouTube–