The Boat Fountain

This festive little fountain at the bottom of the Spanish Steps is both beautiful and strange at the same time. It is a baroque fountain of a boat built directly at the foot of the steps that add greatly the “magic” of the area. The fountain was designed and constructed by Pietro Bernini with the help of his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini and has an interesting story.
Even today, there are many floods in Rome but back in the 16th century, it was even worse. In 1598 a massive flood caused the Tiber to overflow which caused a boat from the river to be carried into Piazza di Spagna. When the waters retreated, the boat remained there in the square. When Pietro Bernini received the commission Pope Urban VIII he used the boat as inspiration.Read more