The Porter, Renaissance marble fountain in Via Lata, Rome, Italy
The Facchino is a marble fountain on Via Lata depicting a porter wearing a cap while holding a barrel. Water flows from the barrel's opening into a small basin positioned below the figure.
The work was created between 1587 and 1598 by artist Jacopo del Conte. It was relocated from Via del Corso to its present location at Palazzo De Carolis Simonetti in 1872.
The sculpture shows a water carrier who brought water from the Tiber to Romans before modern pipe systems arrived. This representation captures a crucial part of daily urban life that now exists only through such artworks.
The fountain sits near Piazza Venezia and is easy to reach on foot. It remains functional and is mounted on a building facade, making it visible from the street level.
Damage visible on the figure comes from stones thrown by people who mistook the porter's soft cap for a reference to Martin Luther. These marks and dents on the surface preserve traces of old misunderstandings that once affected this sculpture.
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