Fontana del Moro – African exoticism in the center of the city

Fontana del Moro, one of the mascarons by Giacomo della Porta, Piazza Navona

Fontana del Moro, one of the mascarons by Giacomo della Porta, Piazza Navona

It was created in the southern part of Piazza Navona in 1576. Its creator was the outstanding artist and constructor of Roman fountains Giacomo della Porta, decorating it with mascarons and tritons.

Fontana del Moro, one of the mascarons by Giacomo della Porta, Piazza Navona
Fontana del Moro, figure of a Moor according to the design of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Piazza Navona
Fontana del Moro, one of the tritons by Giacomo della Porta, Piazza Navona
Fontana del Moro, Piazza Navona
Fontana del Moro, Piazza Navona, Gaspare Vanvitelli, fragment, 1699, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid, pic. Wikipedia
Fontana del Moro, triton, Piazza Navona
Fontana del Moro, Giacomo della Porta, Piazza Navona
Fontana del Moro, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona, in the foreground the Fontana del Moro, drawing by Giambattista Piranesi, XVIII century
Fontana del Moro, Giacomo della Porta and Gian Lorenzo Bernini

It was created in the southern part of Piazza Navona in 1576. Its creator was the outstanding artist and constructor of Roman fountains Giacomo della Porta, decorating it with mascarons and tritons.

Della Porta’s work was restored and figures were added in the next century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who situated an imposing figure of an African giant fighting a huge fish in the center. It is from this figure that the fountain received its name „del Moro” (it. Moor). Reportedly the facial lines of the figure were taken from the ambassador of the Kingdom of Kongo, who resided in Rome at that time.