Triton Fountain. The Fontana del Tritone, created by the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1643, is often portrayed in art as a striking example of Rome’s dynamic Baroque style, blending mythological themes with architectural grandeur.
Located in Piazza Barberini, the fountain features Triton, the sea god, emerging from a giant clam shell and blowing a conch, symbolizing the power of the sea. Artworks depicting the Fontana del Tritone often focus on its dramatic energy and movement, emphasizing Bernini’s skill in transforming marble into flowing, lifelike forms.
In many visual representations, the fountain serves as a testament to the grandeur of the Barberini family, who commissioned the work, and highlights Rome’s artistic flourishing during the 17th century. The fountain’s combination of mythology, natural forms, and intricate craftsmanship remains a celebrated motif in depictions of Baroque Rome.
At its centre rises a larger than lifesize muscular Triton, a minor sea god of ancient Greco-Roman legend, depicted as a merman kneeling on the sum of four dolphin tailfins. His head is thrown back and his arms raise a conch to his lips; from it a jet of water spurts, formerly rising dramatically higher than it does today.
The fountain has a base of four dolphins that entwine the papal tiara with crossed keys and the heraldic Barberini bees in their scaly tails. The Tritone, the first of Ber