Fontana di Pio IV

The two inscriptions with the pope’s coat ofarms that dominate the fountain commemorate the building of the fountain in 1565 under Pious the Fourth Medici (1559-1565) and its restoration in 1713 under pope Clement the Eleventh Albani (1700-1721). It originally consisted of an ample counter-shaped stone pond. It acted as a trough for the nearby Barracks of the Light Cavalrymen of the Papal Guard. The fountain was moved from the surroundings of the Guard Tower to its current location after the opening (1938-42) of the gallery that connected the area with Piazza della Rovere. On that occasion the stone pond was replaced with a Roman sarcophagus that receives water from a central lion head and from two symmetrical sidetaps.