Sisto V nel 1587 e Paolo V in 1612 costruirono nuovi acquedotti (Acqua Felice) o riattivarono antichi acquedotti romani (Acqua Paola). In addition to the large fountains at the Rome end of the aqueducts several other fountains were built between 1587 and 1620 to make the water easily available to the inhabitants of Rome.

Molte delle famiglie più ricche chiesero al papa una ulteriore fornitura d'acqua. The conduits very often fed a little fountain in the courtyard of their palaces.

Fontane in Palazzo Patrizi e in Palazzo Mattei di Giove

Si scoprì che i sarcofagi Romani era perfetti come contenitori d'acqua e con l'aggiunta di bassorilievi Romani divennero il genere più diffuso di fontane private.


Fountains in Palazzo Ferrajoli, Palazzo Sterbini and Palazzo Massimi
In other palaces the fountains were located in the courtyard in a way that they could be seen from the street through the main door. In these cases a statue in a niche was used to emphasize the perspective from outside. The inscription above the fountain in Palazzo Ferrajoli is very clear about the purpose of the fountain: AEDIUM UTILITATI ET ORNAMENTO means: (built) for the usefulness and the embellishment of the house. Palazzo Sterbini is a Renaissance palace opposite to Banco di S. Spirito. In the case of Palazzo Massimi the fountain is not visible from outside, but it is the focal point of the courtyard.


Fountains in Palazzo Antamoro and Palazzo del Collegio Germanico
In 1667 Paolo Strada, an officer of the Papal Court, was presented by Pope Clemens IX with a supply of water and he decided to celebrate the pope by dedicating to him a fountain in the courtyard of his palace. The fountain was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The two tritons held the coat of arms of the Pope, but when the palace was acquired in the XVIIIth century by the family Antamoro, the fountain was modified and the coat of arms of the pope was replaced. Palazzo Antamoro is located in Via della Panetteria, near Fontana di Trevi. A very similar fountain, although not designed by Bernini, can be seen in Palazzo del Collegio Germanico. The fountain shows a dragon, the heraldic symbol of Gregorius XIII, the founder of Collegio Germanico. The courtyards of this building have also another baroque fountain.


Fountains in Palazzo Falletti di Villafalletto and in Palazzo Odescalchi
The fountains shown in the image have basins at two levels. The higher basin has the shape of a shell and most likely it was used for drinking water while the lower basin was used for filling buckets. Palazzo Falletti di Villafalletto is near S. Lorenzo a Panisperna.


Fountains in Palazzo Borghese and in Palazzo Maccarani Odescalchi
Some palaces were large enough to have a little garden rather than a courtyard. The garden of Palazzo Borghese and its supply of water were so large that in 1673 Prince Giovanni Battista Borghese commissioned Carlo Rainaldi the redesign of the garden which was embellished with three large fountains (in the picture Bagno di Venere by Leonardo Retti). The little garden in Palazzo Maccarani Odescalchi, near S. Maria in Campitelli has just a small fountain with on top the family's coat of arms.


Fontane in Palazzo Berardi Muti
L'ultima immagine di questa pagina mostra una fontana in Palazzo Berardi Muti vicino alla Chiesa del Gesù. La fontana ha al centro un idrocronografo (un orologio che funziona col movimento dell'acqua) che nel 1870 rimpiazzò una statua.