The Fountain of the Amphorae (Fontana delle Anfore) is located in the Piazza Testaccio in the Testaccio neighborhood of Rome. It was returned here in 2014 after 80 years of having embellished the Piazza dell’Emporio.
Fountain of the Amphorae Rome
History and description
The Fontana delle Anfore was built in the 1920’s by the architect Pietro Lombardi who had won a competition organized by the Municipality of Rome.
The winner of the competition got to design a number of fountains for some districts of the city, each fountain having to represent an aspect typical of the neighbourhood in question.
Of course for the Testaccio district, built on a hill created from the shards of broken jars, the fountain consisted of a number of amphorae. It is made of travertine marble and consists of a circular base, with bas-reliefs representing jars and steps leading up to a sculpture of yet more amphorae.
The Fountain of the Amphorae started its existence in the Piazza Testaccio itself, but was moved to the Piazza dell’Emporio in 1935. In those days the square was still named Piazza Mastro Giorgio. The reason the fountain was moved was that the square was to become the main market square of the district.
In 2014 it was moved back to its original spot.
The Piazza Testaccio fountain is Lombardi‘s most imposing work. The circular base is divided into four parts. Each part contains a basin into which water is poured from a jar. Volutes and columns connect the steps to a heavy central group of jars.
The total number of jars is 45, but the total number of parts making up the fountain is 350. Its heaviest element weighs 2800 kilos.