The Triton Fountain (Fontana del Tritone) by the leading Baroque sculptor, Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII. It was executed in travertine in 1642-43. At its centre rises a larger than lifesize muscular Triton (a minor sea god of classical mythology), depicted as a merman kneeling on a shell borne by four dolphins' tailfins. The original purpose of the fountain was to provide water from the Acqua Felice aqueduct, which Pope Urban had restored.
