Thank you for your patience while we retrieve your images.
2016 FAA4741 ROME'S OLDEST FOUNTAIN

2016 FAA4741 ROME'S OLDEST FOUNTAIN

Basilica of Santa Maria
Trastevere
Rome Italy
2016

The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere); English: Our Lady in Trastevere) is a titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the church date back to the 340s, and much of the structure to 1140–43. The first sanctuary was built in 221 and 227 by Pope Callixtus I and later completed by Pope Julius I. The church has large areas of important mosaics from the late 13th century by Pietro Cavallini.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_in_Trastevere

The Romanesque campanile is from the 12th century. Near the top, a niche protects a mosaic from the 13th century of the Madonna and Child by Pietro Cavallini. It depicts the Madonna enthroned and suckling the Child, flanked by 10 women holding lamps. This image on the façade showing Mary nursing Jesus is an early example of a popular late-medieval and renaissance type of image of the Virgin. The motif itself originated much earlier, with significant seventh-century Coptic examples at Wadi Natrun in Egypt.

The façade of the church was restored in 1702 by Carlo Fontana. It is surmounted by a balustrade decorated with the statues of four popes. He replaced the ancient porch with a sloping tiled roof — seen in Falda's view above — with the present classicizing one. The octagonal fountain in the piazza in front of the church (Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere), which already appears in a map of 1472, was restored by Fontana.

The Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is a fountain located in the square in front of the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome, Italy. It is believed to be the oldest fountain in Rome, dating back, according to some sources, to the 8th century. The present fountain is the work of Donato Bramante, with later additions by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Fontana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_in_Piazza_Santa_Maria_in_Trastevere

A fountain is believed to have stood in this square since the 8th century, but the exact date it was built is unknown. The fountain is first mentioned in documents dating to the second half of the 15th century. A drawing of the fountain appears on the map of Rome made by Pietro del Massaio in 1471, along with a description of the legend of the fountain's origin. According to the legend, which appears in the Chronicle of Eusebius, translated and finished by Saint Jerome in the fifth century, on the night of the birth of Christ a fountain of oil appeared miraculously in front of the church, which as a result was given the name "Santa Maria in fontibus." The original fountain was supplied with water by a Roman aqueduct, the Aqua Traiana.


Colorful Trastevere is a funky, bohemian area that clings to its centuries-old, working-class roots. It's known for traditional and innovative trattorias, craft beer pubs and artisan shops, as well as simple B&Bs and budget hotels. From the pre-dinner passeggiata (promenade) until late, a young crowd buzzes around Piazza di San Calisto and Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, the site of a gilded, mosaic-filled church.