Four Rivers

I found Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers to be one of his more intriguing works. The Fountain of the Four Rivers is world renowned and found in the Piazza Navona in Rome. The fountain is of considerable size and is the central fountain in the piazza. This is mainly because it incorporates the central Egyptian Obelisk. The fountain incorporates a god representing four rivers from 4 continents. The Ganges represents Asia, the Nile for Africa, the Danube for Europe, and the Rio de la Plata for the Americas. Each carries traits that are metaphors and allegories such as the Nile’s head being drape in a cloth showing how no one at the time knew where the head of the river was.
This Fountain also has a very interesting historical background. First, this fountain was designed by Bernini for a competition he was never invited to enter. He had made his share of enemies and someone made sure the Pope did not invite Bernini to enter. A prince whose wife was the Pope’s niece persuaded Bernini to enter the contest anyway. When his design was unveiled in a place where the Pope could see it, Bernini’s rivals could not persuade Pope Innocent X away. This fountain was also built at the people’s expense at a time when bread was scarce. The people wanted the money to go to food instead of beautiful fountains. Of course, decent was dealt with in the usual fashion, the Pope had the writers who spoke out against him arrested. Overall, I enjoyed the Bernini tour despite my tired legs from our tours from the previous day. This was well worth it.