Thursday, September 16, 2010

Happy Water

Fontana dell'Acqua Felice by Domenico Fontana, Piazza di San Bernardo, Rome

Fontana dell'Acqua Felice by Domenico Fontana, 1588
Piazza di San Bernardo
Rome, September 2010

“The Fontana dell'Acqua Felice, also called the Fountain of Moses, is a monumental fountain located in the Quirinale District of Rome, Italy. It marked the terminus of the Acqua Felice aqueduct restored by Pope Sixtus V. It was designed by Domenico Fontana and built in 1585–88. At the beginning the reign of Pope Sixtus V (born Felice Peretti) in 1585, only one of the ancient Roman aqueducts which brought water to the city, the Aqua Vergine, was still being maintained and working. Everyone in Rome who wanted clean drinking water had to go to the single fountain near the site of today's Trevi Fountain. Pope Sixtus took on the responsibility of restoring other aqueducts, including the Acqua Alessandrina, which he renamed Acqua Felice after himself. The new fountain that marked the terminus of the restored aqueduct was the first new monumental wall fountain in Rome since antiquity.” (Fontana dell'Acqua Felice, Wikipedia)

2 comments:

tapirgal said...

Thanks for the visit to Rome!

Dina said...

What a huge Moses! I recognized him by the "horns"!

And your link is so interesting too. A wall fountain! With the three arches of an ancient Roman triumphal arch--like the one under Damascus Gate!
I must see Rome, my dream.