Fontana del Moro (Fountain of the Moor), Rome

Situated on the southern end of Navona Square, the impressive Fountain of the Moor is one of the three magnificent statues adorning the square. The original fountain, crafted in 1575 by Giacomo della Porta, features Pietrasanta marble, also known as "holy stone" because of its usage in parts of St. Peter's Basilica. While della Porta allowed his students to add four tritons blowing shells and four masks around the basin's border, the fountain lacked a centerpiece, as public fountains during that era were not intended for embellishment.

An amusing anecdote surrounds the history of the fountain: In 1652, Olympia Maidalchini resided in a house overlooking the fountain and found it unsatisfactory, believing it did not match the grandeur she desired. Determined to rectify the situation, she implored her brother-in-law, Pope Innocent X, to take action. The pope provided a small sum of money to Bernini, instructing him to create something worthy of his rather assertive sister-in-law. Allegedly, the modest payment offended the esteemed artist, and he assigned the task to one of his students, who produced three dolphins holding a shell. Both Bernini and "Donna" Olympia were unimpressed with the student's work. Consequently, Olympia voiced her discontent to the Pope, who dug deeper into his coffers, prompting Bernini to produce the exquisite statue of the Moor holding a dolphin. However, Bernini may have gone slightly overboard, as the statue was so large that the basin had to be enlarged to accommodate it.

During a restoration of the fountain in 1874, the original statues were relocated to the Galleria Borghese and replaced with copies. In September 2011, the fountain suffered damage when a vandal attacked it with a hammer. This unfortunate incident occurred on the same night that the Trevi Fountain was also targeted by the vandal.