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• Forum Boarium fountain

  • From: antfern
  • Description:
    Pope Clement XI commissioned Carlo Bizzaccheri, an architect from Perugia, to erect a fountain as part of the project to refurbish the square outside the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. On August 11, 1717 work began on the foundations. Bizzaccheri, who had the good idea of taking Pope Clement's crest as his inspiration, designed a great octagonal basin with concave sides, so that the whole formed an 8-pointed star, part of the Pope's Albani family crest. The whole fountain is made of travertine and, in the center, two powerful, scaly tritons (the work of Francesco Moratti) rise above a group of rocky outcrops (carved by Filippo Bai). The overly huge tritons are kneeling back-to-back with their tails entwined, their raised arms supporting a second basin shaped to look like an open seashell. The basin also has Pope Clement's coat-of-arms carved on opposite sides (three hillocks beneath a star). In the background of the picture, you can see the round Temple of Hercules Victor or Hercules Olivarius is an ancient edifice located in the Forum Boarium, surrounded by Corinthian columns on all sides. It dates from about 120 b.C. This beautiful small temple is the earliest surviving marble building in Rome.
  • 1 year ago
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