Piazzale degli Eroi Fountain

Built in 1949 in view of the Holy Year of 1950 as an exhibition of the waters of the Peschiera aqueduct - which has its own natural springs near Cittaducale (Rieti) - the fountain stands in the centre of Piazzale degli Eroi, in the Trionfale district and was inaugurated by president Luigi Einaudi. In its form it is inspired by that of the Najadi, an exhibition of Pia Antica Marcia water built between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 1900s. The idea of ​​celebrating the inauguration of an aqueduct with a fountain-show one last time was borrowed from the tradition of the past linked to the popes.

It consists of a large circular travertine basin with a rounded edge inside which stands a multi-level composition with an octagonal base. The central structure has concave sides, in which shell valves open; its scenographic effect is made up of the various water features that crown the high central jet. On the smaller sides, the water descends to form a waterfall pouring into the semicircular basin below and, from here, into the base pool.

The fountain was expected to be replaced by 1992, with a more adequate exhibition on Piazzale Clodio, which was never built.

Photo credits: courtesy of the Capitoline Superintendence official site