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Informazioni Turistiche -
Discovering Rome
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Discovering Rome
Water in Rome (4 hours)
Undoubtedly there is no city in the world that has more waters and fountains than Rome. It has been thus since ancient times, when 11 aqueducts supplied thousands and thousands of litres of water to the city each day, feeding the countless fountains and magnificent baths. The sacking of the Goths, resulting in the cutting of the aqueducts, ended this richness, and only at the end of the 16th century did the popes tackle the water supply problem adequately. Since then Rome was adorned with dozens of monumental fountains celebrating the pontiffs' munificence, often flanked by drinking troughs and public basins for practical uses. And today still, while we admire these masterpieces, we refresh ourselves by drinking the excellent water running from the typical drinking-water fountains affectionately called "nasoni" - big noses - because of the curious shape of the curved spout.
The theatrical Fountain of the Naiads, one of the most beautiful fountains of modern Rome, is the work of sculptor Mario Rutelli, who created it in 1901 to adorn Piazza della Repubblica, originally called Piazza Esedra.
The old name derives from the fact that the square was created, in the late 1900s, following the curved line of the large exedra of the majestic Baths of Diocletian, recently restructured and reopened to the public. Between the two semicircular porticoed buildings opens Via Nazionale, an important main street and lively commercial zone. At no. 194 is the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, the site of interesting exhibitions.
The roof garden is one of the most popular places in Rome for short snacks, lunches, or mundane and cultural events.
The four bronze nymphs placed around the basin of the Fountain of the Naiads were the subject of fierce controversy, which led to the raising of a fence to prevent the sight of the female figures, considered too sensual because of the manner in which they were embracing the sea monsters. The fence was removed by popular acclaim, but the criticism did not end, so the sculptor created the central group which, depicting three tritons, a dolphin and an octopus, was quickly christened "mixed fish fry". The group was transferred to Piazza Vittorio and replaced with the figure of Glaucus Fighting a Triton.
For those with a sweet tooth a stop at the Dagnino bar-pastry shop, Via V. Emanuele Orlando 75, is a must. It offers the best Sicilian specialities, from cannoli to marzipan fruit. Those, on the other hand, in search of guidebooks or other books can go to Feltrinelli International, Via V. Emanuele Orlando 84, or Mel Book Store, Via Nazionale 255.
Often the creation of aqueducts and fountains was dictated, more than by the desire to meet the population's needs, by the desire to satisfy private interests of the popes. This is the case of the Fountain of Moses in Piazza San Bernardo, which forms the "display", i.e. the terminal part of the Felice aqueduct, thus named after Pope Sixtus V, Felice Peretti, who restored the ancient Alessandrino aqueduct.
This was done mainly to serve the huge villa, which no longer exists, that the pope had built starting in 1585 and which occupied the entire Termini Station area as far as the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The figure of Moses as he makes water gush forth from the rock, an obvious reference to the pope who restored the aqueduct, was so strongly criticised for its lack of elegance and proportion that it became the subject of a humorous pasquinade:
Guarda con l'occhio torvo
l'acqua che sgorga ai pi |
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