Fontana delle Tartarughe
Encyclopedia
The Fontane delle Tartarughe (The Turtle Fountain) is a fountain
of the late Italian Renaissance
, located in the Piazza Mattei, in the Sant'Angelo
district of Rome
, Italy. It was built between 1580 and 1588 by the architect Giacomo della Porta
and the sculptor Taddeo Landini
. The bronzes turtles around the upper basin, usually attributed either to Gian Lorenzo Bernini
or Andrea Sacchi
, were added in either 1658 and 1659, when the fountain was restored.
, by Pope Gregory XIII
.
The Acqua Vergine had been one of the first Roman aqueducts, opened by Marcus Agrippa, a chief aide of emperor Augustus
, in 19 b.c.. It carried water from the village of Salone in the Alban Hills, nine miles north of Rome, and ended in a fountain near the Pantheon. It was known for the purity of its water. The aqueduct was destroyed by the Visigoths in the 6th century, then partially restored by Pope Adrian I
(772-795) in the 8th century. Through the Middle Ages it was the only acqueduct supplying drinking water to Roman fountains; the rest of the city's drinking water came from the Tiber River.
In 1561, Pope Pius IV
decided to completely reconstruct the acqueduct. The project was given to the Papal architect, Giacomo della Porta
(1532–1602), who built some of Rome's most famous fountains, and also completed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica
following Michelangelo's and rebuilt the facades of some of Rome's major churches. The reconstruction of the acqueduct was finished in August 1570, with the first water flowing to a reservoir near the present Trevi Fountain.
Della Porta and the city of Rome made a plan to build eighteen new fountains connected to the new acqueduct. He began in 1572 with the fountain in Piazza del Popolo
, then built the two famous fountains of Piazza Navona
(1574–1578), and the fountain in Piazza della Minerva
in front of the Pantheon
(1575). +
In the original plan of 1570 a new fountain was to have been placed near the Theater of Marcellus in the Piazza Giudea, the site of a market in the Roman Ghetto
. One of the members of the committee that selected the sites of the fountains was the Roman nobleman Muzio Mattei, Mattei used his influence and money to have the fountain location moved to the small Piazza Mattei, in the block where the members of his family lived.
agreed to pay the cost of the maintenance of the fountain, and to pave the square.
The Fontana delle Tartarughe is one of the few fountains in Rome built not for a Pope, but for a private patron. Muzio Mattei
was a member of the House of Mattei; a family of bankers and politicians whose family lines went back to an early Roman family, the Papareschi, and whose ancestors included Pope Innocent II
(1130–1143). In the 1350s the family moved to the Rione Sant Angelo, and they eventually built six residences in the block called the Isola Mattei. Though they lived in the Roman Ghetto
, the historic Jewish quarter, they were Roman Catholic. When Pope Paul IV
decided to build a wall around the Ghetto in 1555 and imprison the Jewish population, the Mattei were given a key to the gate.
Muzio's nephew Girolamo Mattei
was appointed Cardinal under Pope Sixtus V
, and another nephew, Asdrubale Mattei
, was an important art patron; in 1598-1616 he commissioned the architect Carlo Maderno
to build the Palazzo Mattei
di Giove close to the fountain, and accumulated a notable art collection.
(1533–1602) in 1581. He used a design which he repeated in several fountains, which he adapted from earlier ancient Roman fountains. It had a single vasque, or bowl, on a pedestal, from which water spouted upwards and then poured down into polygonal basin. What made the fountain in Piazza Mattei different was the decoration; Mattei commissioned the young sculptor Taddeo Landini
, (1550–1596) for his first sculptural commission in Rome, to create statues of four ephebes
, or young adolescent men, and eight dolphins. They were originally intended to be of marble but were finally made of bronze, which was more expensive. The Ephebes, in the mannerist style, may have been inspired by eight bronze figures made in 1563-1565 by Bartolomeo Ammannati for the Fountain of Neptune
, or du Biancone, in Florence.
The fountain is composed of square basin with a circular vasque of African marble mounted on a pedestal in the center. Around the edge of the vasque are the four heads of putti which spout water into the basin below. There are four marble conch
shells surrounding the base of the fountain. The four bronze ephebes are placed around the vasque of fountain, each resting one foot on the head of a bronze dolphin, reachng down to hold the tail of the dolphin, and raising up one hand toward the edge of the vasque. Water pours out of the mouths of the dolphins into the conch shells, then into the basin below.
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The fountain almost immediately had a problem of water supply. All the fountains of Rome functioned by gravity- the source of the water had to be higher than the fountain, and the height that the water could jet upwards was determined by the difference in elevation between the source and the fountain. All of the fountains connected to the Acqua Vergine aqueduct had the same problem- the immediate source of the water, a reservoir near the Piazza Spagna, was only sixty-seven feet above sea level, with only a twenty-three foot fall over the entire system. As a result, the Fonta delle Tartarughe had only a feeble flow of water.
To resolve this problem, the fountain was modified soon after it was finished. Four of the dolphins which were intended to spout water, probably supported by the hands of the ephebes, were removed and moved to another fountain, the Fontana della Terrina, which was then in the Campo de'Fiori, before being moved to a new site in front of the new church of Santa Maria in Vallicella
The fountain in Piazza Mattei was left with a single upward jet of water in the vasque which filled the bowl, which drained through the mouths of the puti into the lower basin, and four small streams through the mouths of the dolphins which flowed into the conch shells.
The fountain apparently served the whole neighborhood. Drinking water was carried from the fountain to homes around the neighborhood by servants, family members, or paid water porters. Early engravings show that, after the fountain was opened, an ancient Roman sarcophagus was placed next to it to serve as a watering trough for horses, to keep that water separate from the drinking water for people.
The fountain was the subject of engravings and drawings by such artists as Giovanni Battista Falda
, which spread its fame.
In 1642, the artist and critic Giovannin Baglione also praised the fountain's beauty, calling it a tribute to the virtue of its patron.
In the seventeenth century the fountain was often misattributed to either Raphael
or to Michelangelo
, which added to its popularity and reputation.
Probably to correct this problem and balance the composition, the four turtles around the edge of the vasque were added during a restoration of the fountain between 1658 and 1659 ordered by Pope Alexander VII
. They are usually attributed either to Gian Lorenzo Bernini
or Andrea Sacchi
. The date of the restoration is recorded on four scrolls of marble around the fountain.
The turtles are very realistic; If their creator was Bernini, he may have used casts of a real turtle, as he did with sculptures he made of other living creatures.
In 1979 one of the turtles was stolen from the fountain. After the theft the original turtles were replaced by copies.
The statue was equipped with a water purification system to prevent the buildup of calcium deposits, which had required the frequent cleaning of the fountain. The water purification system was replaced in 2003 and the marble and bronze of the fountain were extensively restored and preserved in 2006.
Other historians note that Roman fountain statuary in the Renaissance usually told a story or represented a virtue which their patron believed he possessed. The German historian Phillip Fehl suggested that the theme of the fountain was "Festina lente," the neoplatonic saying "make haste slowly," contrasting the speed of the dolphins and the slowness of the turtles.
Norwegian art historian Anne Kristine Togstad believes that the male figures and turtles are both connected to the Roman and Greek legend of Jupiter
and Ganymede
. The legend recounts which how the god Jupiter fell in love with the handsome young shepherd Ganymede. Jupiter transformed himself into an eagle and lifted Ganymede to the sky, where he became immortal and the cupbearer to the gods. In 1597 the Mattei family acquired the territory of Giove, the Italian name for Jupiter, and build a new residence near the fountain called Palazzo Mattei di Giove
. They embellished their houses with emblems, paintings and sculptures with the eagle of Jupiter and representations of Ganymede. The upraised arms of the figures in the fountain resembles the posture of classical Roman representations of Ganymede being abducted by the eagle. The turtle was associated in mythology with Jupiter.
The story is probably only a legend; sceptics note that it would have been very difficult to construct such a complex fountain in the dark without making any noise in a single night. According to historians such as Maurizia Tazertes the fountain was built over a long period between 1581 and 1588, and the Palazzo Mattei
di Giove, the main residence of the Mattei, was not completed until 1616.
Defenders of the legend point out that the Palazzo Giacomo Mattei, the earlier residence of the Mattei family, which stands directly in front of the fountain, was built in the early 16th century, before the fountain was built, and thus the legend could be true.
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
of the late Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
, located in the Piazza Mattei, in the Sant'Angelo
Sant'Angelo
-Religion:*Sant'Angelo is the Italian name for Saint Angelus of Jerusalem*Santo Ângelo, a Roman Catholic Diocese of Brazil- Brazil:*Santo Ângelo, a city in Rio Grande do Sul state*Santo Ângelo, a micro-region in Rio Grande do Sul state- Italy:...
district of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy. It was built between 1580 and 1588 by the architect Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...
and the sculptor Taddeo Landini
Taddeo Landini
Taddeo Landini was an Italian sculptor and architect of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Florence and Rome. He was born in Florence and died in Rome....
. The bronzes turtles around the upper basin, usually attributed either to Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
or Andrea Sacchi
Andrea Sacchi
Andrea Sacchi was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors Alessandro Algardi and François Duquesnoy, and the contemporary biographer Giovanni...
, were added in either 1658 and 1659, when the fountain was restored.
The source of the water - the Acqua Vergine Aqueduct
The Fontana delle Tatarughe, like all Renaissance fountains, was designed to supply drinking water to the Roman population. It was one of a group of eighteen new fountains built in Rome in the sixteenth century following the restoration of a ruined first century Roman acqueduct, the Acqua VergineAcqua Vergine
Acqua Vergine is one of the several aqueducts that serve the city of Rome, in Italy, with pure drinking-water. The name derives from the name of its predecessor, Aqua Virgo, which was constructed by Marcus Agrippa in 19 BC, terminating at its castellum at the Baths of Agrippa, and, through a...
, by Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted civil calendar to this date.-Youth:He was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and wife Angela...
.
The Acqua Vergine had been one of the first Roman aqueducts, opened by Marcus Agrippa, a chief aide of emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, in 19 b.c.. It carried water from the village of Salone in the Alban Hills, nine miles north of Rome, and ended in a fountain near the Pantheon. It was known for the purity of its water. The aqueduct was destroyed by the Visigoths in the 6th century, then partially restored by Pope Adrian I
Pope Adrian I
Pope Adrian was pope from February 1, 772 to December 25, 795. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.Shortly after Adrian's accession the territory ruled by the papacy was invaded by Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and Adrian was compelled to seek the assistance of the Frankish king...
(772-795) in the 8th century. Through the Middle Ages it was the only acqueduct supplying drinking water to Roman fountains; the rest of the city's drinking water came from the Tiber River.
In 1561, Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV , born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was Pope from 1559 to 1565. He is notable for presiding over the culmination of the Council of Trent.-Biography:...
decided to completely reconstruct the acqueduct. The project was given to the Papal architect, Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...
(1532–1602), who built some of Rome's most famous fountains, and also completed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
following Michelangelo's and rebuilt the facades of some of Rome's major churches. The reconstruction of the acqueduct was finished in August 1570, with the first water flowing to a reservoir near the present Trevi Fountain.
Della Porta and the city of Rome made a plan to build eighteen new fountains connected to the new acqueduct. He began in 1572 with the fountain in Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name.The piazza lies inside the northern...
, then built the two famous fountains of Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...
(1574–1578), and the fountain in Piazza della Minerva
Piazza della Minerva
Piazza della Minerva is a piazza in Rome, Italy, near the Pantheon. Its name derives from the existence of a temple built on the site by Pompey dedicated to Minerva Calcidica, whose statue is now in the Vatican Museums.-Features:Facing this piazza are:...
in front of the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
(1575). +
In the original plan of 1570 a new fountain was to have been placed near the Theater of Marcellus in the Piazza Giudea, the site of a market in the Roman Ghetto
Roman Ghetto
The Roman Ghetto was a ghetto located in the rione Sant'Angelo, in Rome, Italy, in the area surrounded by today's Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Lungotevere dei Cenci, Via del Progresso and Via di Santa Maria del Pianto close to the Tiber and the Theater of Marcellus...
. One of the members of the committee that selected the sites of the fountains was the Roman nobleman Muzio Mattei, Mattei used his influence and money to have the fountain location moved to the small Piazza Mattei, in the block where the members of his family lived.
The Patron of the Fountain, Muzio Mattei
In 1580, the authorities of Rome agreed to move the water channel for the new fountain from its original site to the Piazza Mattei. In exchange for moving the fountain to the place in front of his home, Muzio MatteiMuzio Mattei
Muzio Mattei was an Italian nobleman of the House of Mattei. He helped the Mattei rise to prominence by supporting political and cultural initiatives of the Pope and the Church in Rome.-Political activity:...
agreed to pay the cost of the maintenance of the fountain, and to pave the square.
The Fontana delle Tartarughe is one of the few fountains in Rome built not for a Pope, but for a private patron. Muzio Mattei
Muzio Mattei
Muzio Mattei was an Italian nobleman of the House of Mattei. He helped the Mattei rise to prominence by supporting political and cultural initiatives of the Pope and the Church in Rome.-Political activity:...
was a member of the House of Mattei; a family of bankers and politicians whose family lines went back to an early Roman family, the Papareschi, and whose ancestors included Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...
(1130–1143). In the 1350s the family moved to the Rione Sant Angelo, and they eventually built six residences in the block called the Isola Mattei. Though they lived in the Roman Ghetto
Roman Ghetto
The Roman Ghetto was a ghetto located in the rione Sant'Angelo, in Rome, Italy, in the area surrounded by today's Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Lungotevere dei Cenci, Via del Progresso and Via di Santa Maria del Pianto close to the Tiber and the Theater of Marcellus...
, the historic Jewish quarter, they were Roman Catholic. When Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
decided to build a wall around the Ghetto in 1555 and imprison the Jewish population, the Mattei were given a key to the gate.
Muzio's nephew Girolamo Mattei
Girolamo Mattei
Girolamo Mattei was an Italian Cardinal from the House of Mattei.Mattei was born 8 February 1547, the son of Alessandro Mattei and Emilia Mazzatosta. He was the younger brother of Ciriaco Mattei and the older brother of Asdrubale Mattei, Marquis di Giove...
was appointed Cardinal under Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
, and another nephew, Asdrubale Mattei
Asdrubale Mattei
thumb|Portrait of Asdrubale Mattei di Giove by students of Caravaggio .Asdrubale Mattei , Duca di Giove, was an Italian nobleman of the House of Mattei, an avid art collector and a patron of Caravaggio.-Family:...
, was an important art patron; in 1598-1616 he commissioned the architect Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno was a Swiss-Italian architect, born in Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Valle were of key importance in the evolution of the Italian Baroque...
to build the Palazzo Mattei
Palazzo Mattei
thumb|250px|right|The courtyard of the Palazzo Mattei di Giove.The Palazzo Mattei di Giove is the most prominent among a group of Mattei houses that forms the insula Mattei in Rome, Italy, a block of buildings of many epochs...
di Giove close to the fountain, and accumulated a notable art collection.
The design of the fountain
The fountain was designed by the architect Giacomo della PortaGiacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...
(1533–1602) in 1581. He used a design which he repeated in several fountains, which he adapted from earlier ancient Roman fountains. It had a single vasque, or bowl, on a pedestal, from which water spouted upwards and then poured down into polygonal basin. What made the fountain in Piazza Mattei different was the decoration; Mattei commissioned the young sculptor Taddeo Landini
Taddeo Landini
Taddeo Landini was an Italian sculptor and architect of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Florence and Rome. He was born in Florence and died in Rome....
, (1550–1596) for his first sculptural commission in Rome, to create statues of four ephebes
Ephebos
Ephebos , also anglicised as ephebe or archaically ephebus , is a Greek word for an adolescent age group or a social status reserved for that age in Antiquity....
, or young adolescent men, and eight dolphins. They were originally intended to be of marble but were finally made of bronze, which was more expensive. The Ephebes, in the mannerist style, may have been inspired by eight bronze figures made in 1563-1565 by Bartolomeo Ammannati for the Fountain of Neptune
Fountain of Neptune
The Fountain of Neptune is a fountain in Florence, Italy, situated on the Piazza della Signoria , in front of the Palazzo Vecchio....
, or du Biancone, in Florence.
The fountain is composed of square basin with a circular vasque of African marble mounted on a pedestal in the center. Around the edge of the vasque are the four heads of putti which spout water into the basin below. There are four marble conch
Conch
A conch is a common name which is applied to a number of different species of medium-sized to large sea snails or their shells, generally those which are large and have a high spire and a siphonal canal....
shells surrounding the base of the fountain. The four bronze ephebes are placed around the vasque of fountain, each resting one foot on the head of a bronze dolphin, reachng down to hold the tail of the dolphin, and raising up one hand toward the edge of the vasque. Water pours out of the mouths of the dolphins into the conch shells, then into the basin below.
The problem of water
To resolve this problem, the fountain was modified soon after it was finished. Four of the dolphins which were intended to spout water, probably supported by the hands of the ephebes, were removed and moved to another fountain, the Fontana della Terrina, which was then in the Campo de'Fiori, before being moved to a new site in front of the new church of Santa Maria in Vallicella
Santa Maria in Vallicella
Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele...
The fountain in Piazza Mattei was left with a single upward jet of water in the vasque which filled the bowl, which drained through the mouths of the puti into the lower basin, and four small streams through the mouths of the dolphins which flowed into the conch shells.
The fountain apparently served the whole neighborhood. Drinking water was carried from the fountain to homes around the neighborhood by servants, family members, or paid water porters. Early engravings show that, after the fountain was opened, an ancient Roman sarcophagus was placed next to it to serve as a watering trough for horses, to keep that water separate from the drinking water for people.
Critical reaction
The fountain, which then was called simply the Fontana delli Mattei or Fons Mattheiorum, , was a popular and critical success. In 1588, the writer Girolamo Ferrucci called it "the most beautiful and perfect fountain in Rome."The fountain was the subject of engravings and drawings by such artists as Giovanni Battista Falda
Giovanni Battista Falda
Giovanni Battista Falda was an Italian architect and engraver. He is mainly known for his engravings of contemporary and antique structures in Rome....
, which spread its fame.
In 1642, the artist and critic Giovannin Baglione also praised the fountain's beauty, calling it a tribute to the virtue of its patron.
In the seventeenth century the fountain was often misattributed to either Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
or to Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, which added to its popularity and reputation.
The addition of the turtles
The original fountain design called for four bronze dolphins on the upper vasque, supported by the upraised hands of the four young men. With the removal of the four dolphins because of the low water pressure, the upraised hands of the statues seemed to have no purpose.Probably to correct this problem and balance the composition, the four turtles around the edge of the vasque were added during a restoration of the fountain between 1658 and 1659 ordered by Pope Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII , born Fabio Chigi, was Pope from 7 April 1655, until his death.- Early life :Born in Siena, a member of the illustrious banking family of Chigi and a great-nephew of Pope Paul V , he was privately tutored and eventually received doctorates of philosophy, law, and theology from...
. They are usually attributed either to Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
or Andrea Sacchi
Andrea Sacchi
Andrea Sacchi was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors Alessandro Algardi and François Duquesnoy, and the contemporary biographer Giovanni...
. The date of the restoration is recorded on four scrolls of marble around the fountain.
The turtles are very realistic; If their creator was Bernini, he may have used casts of a real turtle, as he did with sculptures he made of other living creatures.
Recent history
In 1853-54, during a brief period of puritanism in Rome, leaves were placed over the sexual organs of the boys.In 1979 one of the turtles was stolen from the fountain. After the theft the original turtles were replaced by copies.
The statue was equipped with a water purification system to prevent the buildup of calcium deposits, which had required the frequent cleaning of the fountain. The water purification system was replaced in 2003 and the marble and bronze of the fountain were extensively restored and preserved in 2006.
The iconography of the turtle fountain
Art historians have presented various theories about the iconography of the fountain, particularly about the odd contraposto posture of the bronze figures and the presence of the bronze turtles, which were added in 1658 or 1659. Some historians say the upraised hands of the male figures were meant to hold up the four bronze dolphins which were removed when the fountain opened because of insufficient water pressure to make them spout water. The turtles were added simply to balance the composition and to give a reason for the upraised arms of the figures.Other historians note that Roman fountain statuary in the Renaissance usually told a story or represented a virtue which their patron believed he possessed. The German historian Phillip Fehl suggested that the theme of the fountain was "Festina lente," the neoplatonic saying "make haste slowly," contrasting the speed of the dolphins and the slowness of the turtles.
Norwegian art historian Anne Kristine Togstad believes that the male figures and turtles are both connected to the Roman and Greek legend of Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
and Ganymede
Ganymede (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Ganymede is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals. In the best-known myth, he is abducted by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus. Some interpretations of the myth treat it as an allegory of...
. The legend recounts which how the god Jupiter fell in love with the handsome young shepherd Ganymede. Jupiter transformed himself into an eagle and lifted Ganymede to the sky, where he became immortal and the cupbearer to the gods. In 1597 the Mattei family acquired the territory of Giove, the Italian name for Jupiter, and build a new residence near the fountain called Palazzo Mattei di Giove
Villa Mattei
The Villa Mattei or Villa Celimontana is a villa on the Caelian Hill in Rome, best known for its gardens. Its grounds cover most of the valley between the Aventine Hill and the Caelian.-Location:...
. They embellished their houses with emblems, paintings and sculptures with the eagle of Jupiter and representations of Ganymede. The upraised arms of the figures in the fountain resembles the posture of classical Roman representations of Ganymede being abducted by the eagle. The turtle was associated in mythology with Jupiter.
Legend
A popular Roman legend claims that a Duke Muzio Mattei, ruined by gambling, ordered the fountain to be built overnight in order to win the trust of the wealthy father of a woman he wished to marry. The next morning he opened the window of his palazzo and showed his future father in law the fountain. The father was impressed and allowed the marriage to go ahead, and the Duc, to remember the event, had the window overlooking the fountain closed up. A window closed by brick still overlooks the fountain.The story is probably only a legend; sceptics note that it would have been very difficult to construct such a complex fountain in the dark without making any noise in a single night. According to historians such as Maurizia Tazertes the fountain was built over a long period between 1581 and 1588, and the Palazzo Mattei
Palazzo Mattei
thumb|250px|right|The courtyard of the Palazzo Mattei di Giove.The Palazzo Mattei di Giove is the most prominent among a group of Mattei houses that forms the insula Mattei in Rome, Italy, a block of buildings of many epochs...
di Giove, the main residence of the Mattei, was not completed until 1616.
Defenders of the legend point out that the Palazzo Giacomo Mattei, the earlier residence of the Mattei family, which stands directly in front of the fountain, was built in the early 16th century, before the fountain was built, and thus the legend could be true.
Copies
A replica of the fountain, made in Rome in the early 1900s, was bought by William H. and Ethel Crocker for their estate at Hillsborough, California. It was given to the city of San Francisco by their four children and installed in Huntington Park, Nob Hill, in 1954. It stands rather lower in the water than the Roman original. http://www.nobhillassociation.org/FoT.aspSources
- Maurizia Tazartes, Fontaines de Rome, French edition, translated from Italian by Christine Piot. Citadelles and Mazenod, Paris, 2004.
- Willy Pochino, Le fontane di Roma, Rome, 1996.
- H.V. Morton, The Waters of Rome, London 1970
- Anne Kristine Togstad, Fontana delle Tartarughe- the iconography of a Roman fountain, University of Oslo, 2005. (Doctoral Thesis whose full text is available online.).
- D'Onofrio, Cesare, Le Fontane di Roma, con documenti e disegni inediti, 2nd edition, Rome, 1962