Fontana della Barcaccia, A Baroque masterpiece of joy and fluidity

Piazza di Spagna, Rome, Italy

The broken ship fountain is right in front of the steps of Plaza de España

4.1

Introduction

The Fountain of the Four Rivers, created by Bernini in the 16th century, is an artwork located in the center of the Spanish Square, underneath the steps. Pope Urban VIII commissioned Bernini to create the work with the purpose of adding joy and movement to the square. The beautiful fountain was actually converted by Bernini's father, Pietro Bernini, from a smaller fountain with weak water pressure and a thin stream. Pietro redesigned the original fountain's surrounding into a half-submerged ship in a pool, where the water first flows into the ship, and then slowly spills out from all four sides. The fountain is almost as high as the street, making it seem like a sinking ship that's about to fall into the ground. In the movie "Roman Holiday," Audrey Hepburn sits on the steps next to the Fountain of the Four Rivers, eating ice cream and looking gorgeous.