The Rioni Fountains by Pietro Lombardi, Rome

The Rioni Fountains

4/5/2019

Fontanella dei Libri

A short distance from the Piazza Navona is a rather quirky drinking fountain, the Fontanella dei Libri. The fountain is decorated with four books (libri), five balls, the letters S.P.Q.R., and the head of a stag. Look more closely at the stag’s head and you will see, between the antlers, an inscription which takes the form of a cross. What does it all mean?

In 1926 Pietro Lombardi (1894-1984), a young Roman architect, won a national competition to furnish small drinking fountains (fontanelle) for the rioni (administrative districts) of his native city. Lombardi had a bit of a track record in the field, having already designed the Fontana delle Anfore, the Fountain of the Amphorae, which is situated in Piazza dell' Emporio.

Each of the fountains had to reflect the history and character of the local area. For instance, the Fontanella dei Libri refers to the church of Sant' Eustachio (stag and antlers), the Sapienza, the old university of Rome (books) and the Palazzo Madama (now the seat of the Senate), which once belonged to the Medici family (balls).

Lombardi designed a total of 10 fountains:

Fontanella delle Arti, Rione Campo Marzio, Via Margutta.
Fontanella della Pigna, Rione Pigna, Piazza di S. Marco.
Fontanella dei Monti, Rione Monti, Via S. Vito.
Rione Tiburtina, near the Verano Cemetery, (destroyed during World War II).
Fontanella del Timone, Rione Ripa, built into the walls of the S. Michele Institute.
Fontanella della Botte, Rione Trastevere, Via della Cisterna.
Fontanella dell’Emiciclo, Rione Borgo, Piazza Scossacavalli. (The fountain disappeared when the piazza was demolished during the construction of the Via della Conciliazione. It was later installed on the via Cassia).
Fontanella delle Tiare, Rione Borgo, Porta Angelica.
Fontanella delle Palle di Cannone, Rione Borgo, Largo di Porta Castello.
Fontanella dei Libri, Rione S. Eustachio, Via dei Staderari.