The first free-standing fountain
The first in Rome designed to be seen from all sides โ an idea that changed square design after it.
Architas โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Architas โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Ank Kumar โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Chabe01 โ CC BY-SA 4.0
No โ but it is unavoidably on your way if you visit Palazzo Barberini, the Capuchin crypt, or use Barberini metro. Stop ten minutes and make it part of the neighbourhood route.
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Bernini's fountain at the centre of Piazza Barberini, carved in 1643 for Pope Urban VIII of the Barberini family. Four dolphins open their tails to carry a scallop shell, and above it the Triton โ the sea demigod โ raises a conch to his lips and blows a jet of water straight upward. This was the first fountain in Rome designed to be seen from every side, standing free in the middle of a square rather than set against a wall as all before it had been. The idea reshaped Roman squares thereafter. Between the dolphins' tails sit three bees โ the Barberini emblem โ which you will find carved into every building the family paid for in Rome. Look for them; it is a visual game that follows you across the city. It is free and in the open, steps from Barberini metro and Palazzo Barberini. On the corner of the square stands another small Bernini work: the Fountain of the Bees.
The first in Rome designed to be seen from all sides โ an idea that changed square design after it.
Another small Bernini work on the corner of the square โ missed entirely by most visitors.
Piazza Barberini, Rome
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