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Piazza Navona and Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain |
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by ninamil7 / 09.29.2005 |
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As noted earlier, Pope Innocent commissioned the Four Rivers Fountain as a way to add a unifying focal point to the middle of his piazza. The significance of the fountain goes far beyond a simple piece of aesthetic decoration, however. Innocent was deliberate in his rejection of his predecessor’s regime. He wanted nothing to do with Urban XIII, and he used this fountain as one way of showing that. The aqueduct that feeds the fountains of the Piazza Navona also goes on to feed the Trevi Fountain -- a fountain that Urban XIII championed during his reign. Innocent, therefore, decided to divert the water away from the Trevi Fountain to be used in his own piazza. The Four Rivers Fountain served as a perfect outlet for such a diversion of water.
The symbolism behind the fountain also served as a propagandistic tool for Pope Innocent. In a single piece of art, the four continents of the world were united under one giant obelisk. In essence, Pope Innocent was bringing the whole world to the center of his piazza and topping it with an obelisk that carried his family emblem, the dove. The dove also symbolizes the Holy Spirit, so its presence on top of the obelisk additionally serves to exorcise the pagan implication of the obelisk and place Christianity above all. The message transmitted by this fountain is one of power and triumph of the church under Pope Innocent.
The idea of triumph was a particularly important message to be sent. At the time this fountain was being made, there was a widespread feeling of defeatism throughout the Catholic community. During the Thirty Years War that ended in 1648 there was a series of religious and territorial battles between Protestants and Catholics. The treaty that put an end to this war demanded that the Catholic Church sacrifice important bishoprics in the north in order to keep Austria and Bohemia under its control. This sacrifice was seen as a major loss to the Church and left an air of defeatism over the Catholic community. Innocent’s fountain helped to improve the image of strength of the Church and papacy.
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