Opposite the Accademia di Francia in Villa Medici, near one of the numerous fascinating places in Rome from which you can enjoy a suggestive view of the city, the Pincio, there is this original fountain built around 1589 by Annibale Lippi. Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici commissioned it.
The fountain consists of a large octagonal basin at ground level, at the center of which is a pillar supporting a circular cup of granite cupid-shaped, with a marble sphere inside from which the water gushes.According to tradition, the orb would be a cannonball that would replace a Medici lily.
Two singular legends affect the history of this fountain. Both involve Christina, Queen of Sweden, and her arrival in Rome, after the abdication for embracing the Catholic faith.
One morning of 1656, Christina was on the terrace of Saint Angel Castel and was late for an appointment with the painter Charles Errand in Villa Medici. She realized she would never get there in time. She then decided to knock on Villa Medici door in a unique way: three cannon shots towards its door. Two balls failed, but the third one covered the long distance between the castle and the Academy, reaching its bronze door. The mark of the cannonball is still visible today.
Another legend states that Queen Christina had organized a hunting trip. As she did not want to deliver the invitations and wait for the emissary to bring back and forth the replies, she decided to fire a cannon shot towards Villa Medici to wake up its owner.
The cannonball was preserved and placed on the top of the Fountain of Trinità dei Monti. For these curious events the fountain is today known as the Fountain of the Cannonball.
Photo: Redazione Web Turismo Roma
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