Fontana del Moro
by PORTA, Giacomo della, Marble
Giacomo della Porta’s responsibilities included the construction of public fountains in Rome, and he designed those in Piazza Navona (from 1574), Piazza Colonna (from 1575), Piazza del Pantheon (begun 1575; remodeled 1711 by Filippo Barigioni) and Piazza San Marco (from 1588).
The Fontana del Moro (Moor Fountain) is located at the southern end of the Piazza Navona. It represents a Moor, or African (perhaps originally meant to be Neptune), standing in a conch shell, wrestling with a dolphin, surrounded by four Tritons. It is placed in a basin of rose-coloured marble.
The fountain was originally designed by Giacomo della Porta in 1575 with the dolphin and four Tritons. In 1653, the statue of the Moor, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, was added. In 1874, during a restoration of the fountain, the original statues were moved to the Galleria Borghese and replaced with copies.