Pietro Bernini, father of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the famous italian painter and sculptor died on August 29th 1629. He realized a lot of amazing works of art in Naples and and Rome. Among them, one of the most fomous is the so-called “Fontana della Barcaccia”, a fountain located in Piazza di Spagna (“Spanish Square”) in Rome in Italy.
It’s a unique work of art of its own genre. It was completed in 1629 by Pietro’s son, Gian Lorenzo, after his death. Indeed, the fountain is often mistakenly attributed to Gian Lorenzo.
In order to celebrate the anniversary of the sculptor’s death, let’s talk about the story behid this fountain with a uncommon shape.
THE COMMISSION
«[Pietro Bernini] alla piazza della Trinità de’ Monti, con bel capriccio, fece la fonte in forma di Barca, con Imprese del Papa»
(Giovanni Baglione)
In 1626, Pope Urban VIII ordered Pietro Bernini to realize a fountain in the square in front of the “Chiesa della Trinità dei Monti” ( a church) that at that time was located near the edge of a cliff. In 1570, that square had already been identified as a poytential place where to build a new foutain. However, the low pressure of the aqueduct Acqua Vergine did allow to realize jets and little cascades. So, the porject were abandoned. Instead of fountain, local toponymic documents riport that a cistern was built.
After the Pope’s commission, the problem of the water low pressure persisted. To resolve it, Pietro Bernini designed a fountain with the shape of a boat semi-submerged in an oval tub located lightly over the street level.
THE FOUNTAIN’S SHAPE
Stern and bow of the boat are identical and they are higher than the side edges, just above the pool level. The water gushes from a little tub supported by a short balustrade located at the center of the boat.
Once the tub is full, the water then drops in the boat and one it is also full, it drops in the pool. The water gushes also from other 6 points (3 at the stern and 3 at the bow). Two are sculptures with the shape of a sun with human face and four are roun holes similar to mouths of cannons.
To complete the decoration, there are two pontifex emblems. The tiara nad the bees symbolize the Pope’s family ( Barberini), they are located at the extremities of the boat, between the two mouths of cannon.
The fountain is unique in its own genere because it was not created following the general construction rules for all the fountains basen on geometric shapes. Indeed, it was created as real sculpture.
THE STORIES AROUND THE FOUNTAIN’S NAME
There are different stories around the name and the concept of the fountain.
According to some stories, the particular shape of the fountain would be ispired to a boat in dry that was taken in the square by the flooding of the river Tevere in 1598. According to others, the place where the fountain was built, was used as a little neumachia.
The term neumanchia, in the ancient roma world, can refer to a show representing ship battle or to the building/pool where the boats were storaged.
Beside these stories, the term “barcaccia” refer remind to a boat that is about to sink. Moreover, the term was used to indicate a type of boat used in the Ancient Rome, to transport wine barrels.
Bernini’s fountain is similar to that kind of boat that had that ad low sides to make easy the operation of loading and unloading of the barrels.
ROME, CITY OF ARTS AND HISTORY
Rome, like many other cities in Italy and in the world, is not only beautiful because rich of monuments and places to visit and where to take photos but also because it is full of stories. It is full of evidences of past times, more or less good. Behind every street, monument, fountain, church or buildig there is story to discover. Some are more known that others, some got lost during the years and others changed.
The story behid the Fontana della Barcaccia is one of the many stories that lies behind places and monuments.
It’s true that stories are all around us and if you a touch of immagination, admiring the fountain as well as any other monument, you can see the people who worked on it. You can see the sculptor, the creator, while walking around with his eyes scanning the place where the fountain would be raised. That fountain was in the project but above all in his mind, he had only to take it out.
It’s fashinating. Don’t you think?