Fountain of the Four Rivers

The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) is in Piazza Navona in Rome.

It was commissioned to the great Bernini by Pope Innocenzo X, during the Baroque era.

The structure holds up the Egyptian obelisk which was originally situated in the Circo di Massenzio. On the corners of the fountain are the personifications of the four main rivers of the planet: Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Plate, one for each of the then-known Continents.

The circular base of the fountain is populated by seven animals as well as a small dove and dolphins in the coat-of-arms of the Pamphili family.

It is also rich in plants and trees which emerge from the water. This work impressed everyone and Bernini received compliments from Pope Innocenzo X.

It is thought that the statue of the Plate river holds up its arm so as to protect itself from the collapsing of the facade of the Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone by Borromini. Likewise, the statue of the Nile covers its face so as not to see the collapse.

This underlines the well known rivalry that there was between the two artichects of the time: Bernini and Borromini.