Fontana delle Api (''Fountain of the Bees'') is a fountain located in the

Piazza Barberini Piazza Barberini is a large piazza in the ''centro storico'' or city center of Rome, Italy and situated on the Quirinal Hill. It was created in the 16th century but many of the surrounding buildings have subsequently been rebuilt. History The s ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where the Via Veneto enters the piazza. It was sculpted by

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

and completed in April 1644.

History

Within months of the completion of the

Triton fountain Fontana del Tritone (''Triton Fountain'') is a seventeenth-century fountain in Rome, by the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Commissioned by his patron, Pope Urban VIII, the fountain is located in the Piazza Barberini, near the entrance t ...

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to build a small fountain for public use that would serve the function of ''"beveratore delli cavalli"'' (horse trough). The work was completed in the same year, and in honor of the pope the artist represented on the fountain the Bees, the heraldic symbol of the Barberini family. Initially placed at the corner of Palazzo Soderini, between

and Via Sistina, the fountain was disassembled in 1880 for reasons of traffic obstruction, dismantled and placed in the Testaccio municipal depot. However, in 1915, when it was decided to rebuild it, most of the pieces were no longer found, and a copy was commissioned from Adolfo Apolloni, who instead of the original Luna marble employed travertine from the demolished Porta Salaria. Thus renovated, the fountain was inaugurated on January 28, 1916, in its present location at the entrance to Via Veneto from Piazza Barberini.

Description

''Fontana delle Api'' consists of a marble bi-valve shell with three bees of the same material resting on it. The fountain was intended to be a watering

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

for horses. An inscription on the shell reads, "Urban VIII Pont. Max., having built a fountain for the public ornamentation of the City, also built this little fountain to be of service to private citizens. In the year 1644, XXI of his pontificate." The "public ornamentation" referred to in the inscription is the

Fontana del Tritone Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

(''Triton Fountain''), which Bernini had completed the year before.

References

Piazza Barberini

External links

* {{Authority control 1644 works Sculptures of insects 1640s sculptures

Api An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

Marble sculptures in Italy Sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini Sculptures of seashells Rome R. XVI Ludovisi Zoomorphic fountains

History

Description

See also

References

External links