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Fontana del Pantheon
That pink granite needle shooting up from the dolphins? It's been on three different continents. The obelisk crowned by that dove spent 3,000 years in Egypt under Ramses II, then Emperor Domitian hauled it to Rome for the Temple of Isis around 90 AD, and in 1711, Pope Clement XI plunked it right here in Piazza della Rotonda. The wild part? Those gorgeous marble dolphins and masks you're admiring aren't even the originals. Sculptor Luigi Amici carved perfect copies in 1886 because the 16th-century originals were falling apart... they're chilling in the Museum of Rome now. Here's what locals know: see how the fountain has different numbers of steps on each side? Filippo Barigioni designed it that way in 1711 to match the piazza's natural slope. Smart, right? And that little drinking fontanella tucked beside the main fountain? That's where we actually get our water. The big one's just for show... fed by the same Aqua Virgo aqueduct that powers Trevi Fountain.
Did You Know?
- Fontana del Pantheon was originally designed by Giacomo Della Porta in 1575 and sculpted by Leonardo Sormani, making it one of the first fountains in Renaissance Rome. It was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII and initially featured African grey marble with heraldic symbols of the Pope,