Piazza Navona / Романтика фонтанов
Navona Square is one of the most spectacular and characteristic squares of Baroque Rome, built on the remains of the Stadium of Domitian. The shape of the current square reproduces precisely the perimeter of the ancient stadium that the emperor built in 86 AD for athletics competitions and horse racing.
Three fountains adorn the square: Fontana del Moro, so-called for the statue of the Ethiopian fighting with a dolphin, Fontana de 'Calderari, also known as the Fountain of Neptune, by Giacomo della Porta and, in the centre, the imposing Fountain of the Four Rivers, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The fountain is conceived as a large travertine cliff, carved out of a cave with four openings, which supports the granite obelisk recovered from the Circus of Maxentius on the ancient Appian Way.
On the corners of the cliff, there are the monumental marble statues of the four rivers which represent the continents then known: the Danube for Europe, with the horse; the Ganges for Asia, with the oar and the dragon; the Nile for Africa, with the veiled head (an allusion to unknown sources) associated with the lion and the palm; the Rio della Plata for America, with one arm raised and an armadillo beside it.