Carved out of the medieval street pattern in the seventeenth century to provide an approach to the new Palazzo Barberini, Piazza Barberini sits at the foot of the Quirinal Hill and has become one of the busiest small squares in central Rome. The space takes its name from the powerful family whose palace dominates the corner above. The piazza is best known for two fountains by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, both commissioned by the Barberini in the 1640s. The Fontana del Tritone in the centre shows a muscular sea god kneeling on a giant scallop shell held aloft by four dolphins, blowing water through a conch into the air, a celebrated example of the architect ability to give marble the energy of motion. At the corner of Via Veneto stands the smaller Fontana delle Api, the Fountain of the Bees, dedicated to the Barberini family heraldic emblem, three carved bees clustered on a marble shell, with an inscription that originally read for the public good. Both fountains are still fed by the ancient Acqua Felice aqueduct. The square sits at the junction of several major arteries, including Via Sistina, Via del Tritone and Via Veneto, the latter the wide boulevard immortalised in Fellini film La Dolce Vita. Beneath the square runs Barberini metro station, one of the busier interchanges in the city. A short walk uphill leads to the Capuchin Crypt and its famous bone chapels, decorated with the skeletons of the friars of the order, while the Quirinal Palace, residence of the Italian president, sits a few minutes further along the ridge above. In a city of grand piazzas, Piazza Barberini is more of a working junction than a destination in its own right, but the two Bernini fountains, the views up Via Veneto and the proximity to several major sights make it a convenient and characterful crossroads for any walking tour of central Rome. The Bernini Triton fountain at the centre of the square is famous as a reference point in Roman street directions, with locals routinely arranging to meet at the Tritone before fanning out into the surrounding district. Restoration works have been carried out on the fountain at intervals to clean the marble and replace damaged elements, the result being that the carving remains sharp despite three and a half centuries of weathering. A cluster of cinemas, hotels and small museums on the streets around the square add further reasons to linger, particularly along Via Veneto, where the historic Cafe de Paris and Harry Bar evoke the heyday of the dolce vita era.

Type: Street

Address: Piazza Barberini, Rome, Italy