Piazza Navona & The Fountain of the Four Rivers

Why is it significant?

Step onto the smooth travertine cobblestones of Piazza Navona and pause beside the thunderous cascade of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Key Facts

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Step onto the smooth travertine cobblestones of Piazza Navona and pause beside the thunderous cascade of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, the Fountain of the Four Rivers. Look down the elongated oval expanse of the square: you are standing directly on the arena floor of the Stadium of Emperor Domitian, built in eighty-six AD for athletic games, whose ancient contours the surrounding Baroque palazzi still preserve to this day. Look at the four colossal river gods carved into the travertine rocks beneath the towering Egyptian obelisk. They represent the four great rivers of the known continents under papal influence: the Danube for Europe, the Nile for Africa with its head veiled because its source was unknown, the Ganges for Asia holding an oar, and the Río de la Plata for the Americas with coins symbolizing New World wealth. A delicious Roman legend claims Bernini sculpted the Rio de la Plata throwing up his hand in horror as if fearing the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, designed by his bitter rival Francesco Borromini, would collapse on him! While Borromini actually designed the facade after the fountain was finished, the bitter feud between the two artistic giants defined Rome's golden age. Walk east through the narrow alleyways toward the ancient portico of the Pantheon.