Fountain of Naiadi was inaugurated in the Early Twentieth Century where previously was Mastai’s Pool, a simple round fountain surrounded by jets with an upright jet in the centre. The sensual virgins made by Mario Rutelli are quite different from Alessandro Guerrieri original project, which provided four lions.
The more puritan critics, who were not used to the new freedom of expression, thought the choice was daring and after a bitter controversy, the fountain was cordoned off for a long time, until someone dismantled the fence and the fountain feeded by “Pia Antica Marcia” water was visible again.
It achieved a widespread success and Rutelli won the public over. In 1911 he added a sculptural group of sea animals and figures, ironically called by Romans “mixed fry”, substituted in 1914 by Rutelli himself with the Glaucus.
|
