The Naiad Fountain is located in the center of Piazza Repubblica and is recognized as one of the most beautiful in the city. The easiest way to reach it is to take the metro line “A” to Repubblica – Teatro dell’Opera station.
The first version of the fountain was created in 1870, commissioned by Pope Pius IX. It was called the Acqua Pia fountain because it was connected to a new branch of the Acqua Pia Antica Marcha aqueduct and was intended to give a more monumental appearance to the elegant Via Nazionale. The simple circular pool, with large stones and five vertical jets of water in the center, was one of the most striking examples of the Roman liberti style. It was then located a little to the south.
In the same year, 1870, the unification of Italy took place. The papal region ceased to exist, and Rome became the capital of the united state. Work began on the reorganization of a number of streets and squares. The Via Nazionale was no exception. In 1885, Piazza Exedra was transformed into Piazza della Repubblica (Republic Square), in the center of which the fountain was moved.
In 1888, the architect Alessandro Guerrieri was commissioned to redesign the existing structure. The pool was given an octagonal border and four semicircular baths. Four plaster lions were later added.
The fountain owes its modern appearance and name to the sculptor Mario Rutelli. In 1901, he replaced the plaster lions with bronze naiads – river nymphs. According to legends, the waters of the springs inhabited by naiads had purifying functions and even had the ability to grant immortality. There are four naiads at the fountain – the naiad of the lake, the naiad of the river, the naiad of the ocean and the naiad of underground waters. Each of them has its own “pet”, also depicted in the sculpture. The lake naiad rushes on a swan, the ruler of the oceans sits on a huge seahorse, the river naiad is depicted together with a river monster, and the leader of the underground stream has a dragon. The lions, by the way, have been moved to another fountain in the Piazza del Popolo.
This new fountain shook the imagination of the Romans in 1901. The nude statues caused a storm of protests. Conservatives considered the fountain so immoral that at first it was enclosed by a wooden fence.
However, the forbidden fruit is sweet and the fence gradually “decreased” until one night a group of merry drunken youths collapsed it completely. Luckily for the authorities, the naiads were liked by the residents of the city, and the fountain was even recognized as “progressive”.
Initially, in the center of the fountain was an intricate composition of three newts, a dolphin and an octopus. It was immediately nicknamed Fritto Misto. That’s the name of an Italian dish of lightly fried remains of marine life – small and poorly recognizable on a plate.
Rutelli responded to the criticism. In 1912, the central part of the fountain was decorated with a nude figure of Glaucus wrestling with a dolphin. According to Ovid, Glaucus is a sea deity who, while still being a man, ate grass that made him immortal, but for this the gods “rewarded” him with fins, fish tail and gills. The whole composition began to symbolize the victory of man over the natural elements.
Old-timers remember that in a small café on the square one could see two old ladies, well-dressed and trim, about forty years ago. There were four of them – young models who posed for Rutelli. It was done then in deep secrecy. Two of them drew lucky tickets in life. They let the drivers go and order an espresso. They hardly speak, only stare, recognizing and not recognizing.
