Piazza della Repubblica & the Fountain of the Naiads
Why is it significant?
Stand where Via Nazionale opens into the square and take in the two great curved porticoes that wrap around it like open arms. Their shape is not an architect's whim. They follow exactly the line of the exedra, the great semicircular wall of the Baths of Diocletian, buried beneath them.
Key Facts
| Place | Piazza della Repubblica & the Fountain of the Naiads |
|---|---|
| Address | Piazza della Repubblica, 00185 Roma RM, Italy |
| Geo Coordinates | 41.90200, 12.49520 |
| Part of Walk | Rivals on the Quirinal: Bernini vs Borromini in Baroque Rome |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand where Via Nazionale opens into the square and take in the two great curved porticoes that wrap around it like open arms. Their shape is not an architect's whim. They follow exactly the line of the exedra, the great semicircular wall of the Baths of Diocletian, buried beneath them. Older Romans still call this Piazza Esedra.
Now look at the fountain in the middle. Its story begins on the tenth of September 1870, when Pope Pius the Ninth came here to open a brand new aqueduct, the Acqua Pia. It was a proud day for the papal city. Ten days later, the army of the Kingdom of Italy blew a hole in the walls at Porta Pia, not far up the road, and marched in. The popes' rule over Rome, which had lasted more than a thousand years, was over. The fountain was one of the last public works the papal government ever inaugurated.
The new Italian capital rebuilt this square to impress, with the porticoes going up from the 1880s. And in 1901 four bronze nymphs by the sculptor Mario Rutelli were unveiled around the fountain, each riding a creature of the waters: a sea horse for the oceans, a water snake for the rivers, a swan for the lakes, and a strange lizard-like beast for underground springs.
They were naked, voluptuous, and very obviously enjoying themselves. Rome was outraged. The fountain was fenced off, the clergy protested, and legend says that some young men climbed in at night to get a closer look. The city kept them anyway. In 1912 the male figure of Glaucus wrestling a dolphin was added in the centre.
Popes gave way to kings right here, under your feet, in the space of ten days. Now walk down Via Nazionale. On your left, just before the big white exhibition palace, an ancient church is hiding below the level of the pavement.