An Unpopular Beginning

The crafting of the fountain was originally met with opposition by the Roman people. During the time of the construction, Italy was in the grip of a severe famine and people could barely support their families let alone pay taxes for the fountain.
Despite this, Pope Innocent X had the fountain built throughout 1646-1648. Throughout the plaza where the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was being built, there were endless talks of riots.
In September 1648, protesting writers inscribed “We don’t want Obelisks and Fountains! It’s bread we want. Bread, bread, bread!” into the rocks used to build the obelisk. Innocent X quickly had the authors of the inscriptions arrested and then placed disguised spies to monitor the area around the fountain at all times.Read more