The thing that attracts our attention is above all the enormous ponds made out of Egyptian granite – the main elements of the fountains, which in ancient times were used for bathing and were most likely located in the Baths of Caracalla. They were first taken by Pope Paul II, who place them in front of his residence, the Palazzo Venezia. When Pope Paul III came into power, he decided to place one of the ponds on the newly paved square (1545), opposite the palace belonging to his family (Palazzo Farnese). This pond served purely a decorative function, it was not a fountain since there were no aqueducts, that would supply water to the square. The second pond, thanks to the Farneses, was transported here in 1580. Surrounded by a balustrade, here they both stood for subsequent decades.

In 1605, Pope Paul V ordered water to be supplied to the Regola district. Access was then provided, not only for the inhabitants of the palace but also for the fountains, for which the ancient ponds could be used. This task was entrusted to the architect Girolamo Rainaldi in 1626.

Each of the ponds, adorned with handles and medallions with the image of a lion, was placed in an oval, similar in shape to a shell, bulging on the longer sides, travertine basin. They were immersed in them, and decorated with festoons in the shape of pomegranate fruits. They support the upper basins, with identical from – in smaller dimensions – to the lower basins. The whole is finished off with a lily with open petals, from which the water emerges. The choice of a lily as a final motif in the fountain was not accidental. It is one of the heraldic elements of the Farnese family (six lilies).

At first glance, we will perhaps not notice any differences between the fountains. However, there is a difference – one of them is larger. The guess as to which, we may leave up to those visiting this place, whose charm and picturesqueness have the greatest impact at night or in the evening.