Located on Via degli Staderari, between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, the Fountain of the Books was built in 1927. The Staderari were the manufacturers of steelyards, the portable one-plate scales with a counterweight, who had their workshops here.
The Fountain of the Books is, however, associated with the former name of the street: Via dell' Università. Here was the ancient Palazzo della Sapienza, the seat of the University, which later moved to Trastevere district.
The fountain is enclosed in an alcove between four antique books placed on two side shelves. Among them, a deer head depicts the emblem of Rione Sant'Eustachio (Sant’Eustachio district). The water gushes from two bookmark-shaped spouts and from the two upper tomes, to symbolize that knowledge flows relentlessly from the greatness of books.
The inscription in the center, S. EVSTACCHIO – R IV, should correspond to the name and numbering of the Rione, but it is wrong since S. Eustachio corresponds to Rione VIII and not to Rione IV.
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