Fontana della terrina, Public fountain at Chiesa Nuova, Rome, Italy
Fontana della Terrina is a public fountain in Rome, located on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in front of the Chiesa Nuova church. It has an oval travertine basin with a wide, rounded rim that sits low to the ground and is open to the sky with no central jet or tall structure above it.
Giacomo Della Porta designed this fountain in 1595, and it was first placed at Campo de' Fiori, one of Rome's central squares. It remained there for over 300 years before being moved to its current spot in 1924 as part of changes to the surrounding urban layout.
The name "Terrina" means soup tureen in Italian, and the oval stone basin does look like one when seen from above. People walking along the street often stop for a moment to look at it, drawn by how different it looks from the grander fountains nearby.
The fountain sits directly on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, a busy through road, so it is easy to spot as you walk along the street. The surrounding pavement can get crowded during the day, so an early morning visit gives you more room to look at it without much foot traffic around.
An inscription carved on the basin reads 'Love God and do not fail, do good and let them speak', a phrase added in the 1600s. It is rare to find a moral message written directly onto a working street fountain, making this one stand out from other public water points in the city.
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