Barcaccia fountain

located in Piazza di Spagna, at the foot of the Spanish Steps

The Fontana della Barcaccia is a fountain in Rome, Located in Piazza di Spagna, at the foot of the stairway of Trinità dei Monti.
Indeed, as early as 1570, a document from the Congregation for the Fountains had identified "the site of the aqueduct beneath the Trinity" as the location for the construction of a fountain fed by the new Acqua Vergine aqueduct. However, low water pressure forced the project to be abandoned. In place of the fountain, a cistern was built as a water reserve, which no longer exists. Traces of this remain in the local toponymy (Vicolo del Bottino, as well as the more well-known Via dei Condotti).

The aqueduct was now reinforced and in 1626 Pope Urban VIII commissioned Pietro Bernini to build a fountain in the square below the church of Trinità dei Monti. Pietro was already working on the expansion of the aqueduct itself. At that time, in the absence of the steps, the church stood on the edge of a slope. The work was completed in 1629, and the Bernini was also helped by his son Gian Lorenzo, who probably completed it after his father's death.

Its construction involved overcoming some technical difficulties, due to the persistent low pressure of the aqueduct of theAqua Vergine in that particular location. This did not allow for the creation of jets or waterfalls. Bernini, however, solved the problem by designing the fountain in the shape of a semi-submerged boat. The boat sits in an oval basin set slightly below street level. Its bow and stern, identical in shape, are significantly raised above the lower side edges, just above the level of the basin.

At the center of the boat, a short balustrade supports a small oblong basin. This is lower than the bow and stern ends. A jet of water gushes out of it, filling the basin and cascading into the boat. The water then overflows from the low, flared sides into the basin below. Water gushes from six other points (three at the stern and three at the bow): two sun-shaped sculptures with human faces, which spray water into basins inside the vessel. Additionally, four circular holes (two on each side) face outward, resembling cannon mouths.

In addition to the two suns, two papal coats of arms complete the decorations. These feature the tiara and bees, the heraldic symbol of the pontiff's family (the Barberini). They are located at the outer ends of the boat, between the two cannon mouths.

It was the first time that a fountain was conceived entirely as a sculptural work, moving away from the Della Porta canons of the classical basin with geometric shapes.
Source: https://it.wikipedia.org