Fountain of Acqua Acetosa

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It is a fountain in Rome, Italy, located in the flat area that bears the same name

The Acqua Acetosa Fountain is a fountain in Rome, Italy, located in the flat area of the same name in the Parioli neighborhood; at this point, the Tiber River forms a deep bend before flowing north again. The fountain itself is lower than street level and is therefore accessed via a staircase. In 2003, the Italian Environment Fund, following a public census, deemed it the monument Italians are most fond of.

The name derives from the source of ferruginous water, known to the Romans of the 1613th century as acetosa water (not to be confused with the more famous Fonte Ostiense water in the area), which flowed here. In XNUMX, Pope Paul V had it analyzed, and it was found that it was not only drinkable, but also curative for kidney, stomach, spleen and liver diseases, so much so that some collected it in bottles to sell in the city.

Water was particularly beloved by Pope Paul V, who commissioned a fountain from the architect Giovanni Vasanzio in 1619, as is still remembered by the plaque on a lower wall. At the time, the fountain was a simple wall from which the water gushed. It was restored by Innocent X. Pope Alexander VII commissioned the current fountain. At the top is a tympanum featuring the papal coat of arms and a plaque.

The fountain features a staircase leading to the lower level, where there is an exedra-shaped façade. Three niches are carved into the façade, each of which features the Chigi coat of arms—six mountains surmounted by an eight-pointed star—above a small basin fed by a spout. The attribution to Gianlorenzo Bernini is likely false: it is assumed the designs were by Andrea Sacchi or the architect Marco Antonio De' Rossi.
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