The fountain of Piazza Campitelli is located in the historical center of Rome in the rione Sant’Angelo.
Piazza Campitelli Fountain Rome
History and description
The fountain in the Piazza Campitelli is one of Rome’s oldest fountains (1589) and was designed by Giacomo della Porta and sculpted by Pompilio de Benedetti.
In 1679, when the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli was enlarged, the fountain was moved away from its original position in the centre of the square. The reason was that the church had been complaining about the noise caused by people congregating around the fountain.
The base of this smallish fountain is octagonal and is made of travertino marble. The basin above this base is embellished with two grotesque masks spouting water. One of the masks had donkey ears. The fountain is further embellished with the coats of arms of the, at the time, most important families in the district. These families (Albertoni, Capizucchi, Muti and Ricci) also paid for its construction.