Style Renaissance / Ref.14654

Fountain center model "Fontana delle Tartarughe", XIX century

Fountain named after Pope Alexander VII, featuring at its center a triton surrounded at its feet by four basins representing seashells, resting on a base. On the latter, a dedication is inscribed, divided into four cartouches surrounded by motifs, placed between each basin. The triton is depicted kneeling, the body turned to the left, his left arm raised upwards, his right arm in the same position, the palm open to the sky. This posture suggests that originally he was supposed to hold an element in his two hands (a large bowl, perhaps?) adding another level to the fountain. On the pedestal, cartouches bear inscriptions in Latin, the translation of which can be provided as: "ANNO PONTIFIC IV ALEXANDER VII RESTAURAUIT ORNAVITQUE," which can be translated as: "In the 4th year of the pontificate, Alexander VII restored and adorned." Alexander VII (1599-1667) was Pope from 1655 until his death in 1667. The model of the fountain (the base) as well as the text inscribed in the cartouches closely resemble the Turtle Fountain in Rome, located in Piazza Mattei, the design of which was drawn by Giacomo della Porta in 1582, and the bronzes executed by Tadeo Landini, the whole completed in 1585. The figures were originally supposed to hold dolphins in their hands, but these were never placed on the fountain due to water pressure. In 1658, during the pontificate of Alexander VII, the existing fountain was restored and transformed, with the addition of turtles, which are believed to have been sculpted by Bernini.

Bibliography : Steven Ostrow, "Collecting Copies of 'the most charming fountain in Rome'. Taddeo Landini's Fontana delle Tartarughe".