a rather busy small fountain But also their great number represents one of Rome's records. In fact, according to an old survey, in the second half of the 19th century they had almost reached 100, but if we take into consideration the modern ones too, the number of small public outputs tops 1,000, many more than in any other city in the world. This page reviews their typologies, dividing them into two main groups: the old ones (from the 16th through the mid 19th centuries) and the modern ones (late 19th century to date).

not only humans enjoy small fountains

Although an important restoration and alteration of the main city aqueduct, the Aqua Virgo, had already been made by pope Nicholas V around the 1450s, it was no sooner than during the second half of the 16th century, when the city had already stepped out of its darkest age, and the population had reached again a considerable density, that the local administrators began to draft the first projects for having new fountains set in a number of city squares, for both public utility and - once again after a thousand years - for artistic/architectural purposes, a choice that marked the age of Renaissance. Together with the larger fountains, the number of minor outputs that drew water from the revived aqueducts began to grow, as well, so to serve a greater number of spots throughout the city.

These small public facilities were used both by the local dwellers, for drinking and for other daily necessities (running water in houses was still a very long way to come), and by the many thirsty horses, which in those days represented the bulk of Rome's "traffic". In fact, another name which most small fountains used to be called with was beveratore, old word for "drinking-trough". They usually hung from a wall, where one or more nozzles, often embellished with grotesque faces, animal heads and other decorations in relief, spouted water into a small basin beneath.

a very simple trough, with no decoration

the sarcophagus in via Bocca di Leone

The latter was frequently rectangular in shape, resting directly on the ground or on a platform, or on rests. Due to the wealth of ancient roman remains, which throughout the Middle Ages had been totally disregarded, basins for these fountains were often obtained by reusing old sarcophagi, in most cases beautifully carved, sometimes bought from privates or churches, in whose estates they had been lying abandoned for centuries, or had been found during maintainance works. Among the many samples are the ones in via di Santo Stefano del Cacco, in via Bocca di Leone, in the courtyard of San Silvestro in Capite's church, and by the Colosseum (next to the subway station).

sarcophagus-fountains were set in the streets...	...and some were found in the precincts of churches

Sometimes not sarcophagi, but tubs made of stone or marble, coming from the many public baths of ancient Rome, were used for the new fountains.

the sarcophagus-trough by the Colosseum	tub-shaped trough in Sant'Angelo Castle's grounds

the Roman Forum in the early 17th century: note the round trough in the lower right corner, used by cattle, whose market was once held here

Also other kinds of remains could have been suitable; for instance, the large round basin found in the late 1500s beneath Marforio's statue, as described in the previous part I, was turned into a trough, but an old urn, or even the hollow shaft of a broken column, placed under a water output, would have worked well for this purpose. Besides the drinking-troughs, a number of fountains were more specifically designed for the people. Usually these ones had a smaller basin, at a higher level than a trough, and their decoration could considerably vary in richness. However, the great importance that all of them had for the neighborhood's life can be told by the fact that in some cases the street where they stood was named after the fountain, regardless of its size and artistic value.

A typical case is that of Fontanella Borghese, now a plain nozzle (the original decoration went lost) with a tiny basin, located at the back of Palazzo Borghese. The latter is one of Rome's hugest, most important noble palaces, in whose courtyard stands a beautiful ornate fountain, over twenty times the size of this one. Nevertheless, this insignificant and rather miserable looking output was given the name of the Borghese family. However, the fountain was originally built at the expenses of another family, the Della Genga, around year 1600, therefore it might have been initially called Fontanella Della Genga. But the looming presence of Palazzo Borghese, the most important landmark of the neighborhood, probably caused this output to be more easily identifiable with the new name. And the street where it stands and a nearby square were both named Fontanella Borghese, after the small fountain.

the tiny Fontanella Borghese

Still small, but certainly prettier, are the two niche-shaped fountains hanging on the wall of Palazzo della Rovere, along the southern side of via della Conciliazione, in Borgo district, next to the Vatican. They are almost twins, but one them comes from a building taken down during the works for the opening of this modern avenue.

	Their decoration is a dragon, and one of them also features an eagle, both belonging to the crest of the Borghese family, in honour of pope Paul V (1605-21), i.e. Camillo Borghese. The water they pour is drawn from the Acqua Paola, the reactivated aqueduct once called Aqua Traiana, whose restoration and reopening had been sponsored by the same pope in the early years of the 17th century.

One of the two bears the three letters S P A, acronym for Salus Per Aqua ("health by means of water" in Latin), a mark which used to be placed on sources of water believed to be good for one's health.

the fountain by the pawn-shop

Family crests are a common feature on Rome's fountains, and the Borghese dragon and eagle are among the ones most frequently found. In the same Borgo district once stood another fountain known as Mascherone di Borgo ("Borgo's grotesque face") with a Borghese eagle on it, but when the local houses were roughly pulled down in the 1930s also the fountain went lost. However, a very similar one still decorates the front of Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, in Regola district, the building that houses the public pawn-shop (an establishment founded in 1539). As the lost fountain in Borgo did, also this one pours water from a grotesque face, above which the Borghese eagle perches with open wings. Lacking an official name, it is simply referred to as "the fountain of Palazzo del Monte di Pietà". It dates back to the 1600s.

Not far from the previous one, the Fontana del Mascherone ("grotesque face fountain") features the insignia of a different family. Located in the charming Renaissance atmosphere of via Giulia (see The 22 Rioni, Ponte and Regola), it draws water from the Acqua Paola aqueduct, which had been opened a few years earlier. The water pours from the large face and fills the smaller basin, trickling down into the larger one below. The face and the trough are ancient roman remains. The metal fleur-de-lys above the fountain, instead, reminds us of its owners, the Farnese, the important family in whose crest are six of these flowers. This facility was built at their expenses, right behind the family's great palace, in front of which stand two more full-sized fountains (described in part III). Another crest is featured on the plain marble trough in piazza del Nazzareno, which bears a buffalo's head for the Del Bufalo family; it was heavily restored in the late 1950s. Over the doorway of their palace, facing the fountain, is a similar head.

the grotesque face of via Giulia

the trough of the Del Bufalo family Besides the owner's emblems, also plaques inscribed in Latin were sometimes added to the small fountain's decoration; in many cases they simply praise their owner, but in doing so they sometimes provide some additional information.	the trough by Porta Cavalleggeri

An example is the trough in via di Porta Cavalleggeri, with a lion's head for the nozzle and a sarcophagus decorated with a traditional wavy-shaped motif: its upper inscription reads that pope Pius IV had the output set here in 1565 "for the benefit of the mounted soldiers", the Cavalleggeri corps whose barracks stood nearby, after which the place was named.
After some time the fountain must have stopped working, because the lower plaque remembers another pope, Clement XI, for having reactivated it in 1713.

A large plaque also hangs above the small fountain located by the church of San Salvatore in Lauro. Shaped as a small grotto, i.e. a niche with very rough walls, the water gushes from a rather low output into a tiny basin; in its best days, the output may have been shaped as a lion's head, now barely recognizable.

	the small grotto fountain (left) and detail of the water-spouting head, likely a lion (below)	The inscription sets the fountain's date at 1579, and mysteriously mentions "the dragon who rules over the world", actually the one in the crest of the Boncompagni family, to whom the pope Gregory XIII (1572-85) belonged. the Boncompagni crest

the sarcophagus before Palazzo Spada In a few cases the look of a small fountain could be dramatically improved by means of a smart setting. For instance, along salita di San Sebastianello (on the right), below the Pincio Hill, is a simple sarcophagus fountain. Placed inside a tall niche, above a flight of steps, what could have been a very modest trough has a much more elegant appearance. An empty frame over the output once contained a painting, or a small shrine, but no trace of it has survived.

the small fountain in the tall niche