Fontana Paola

Fontana Paola review Rate it

This grandiose fountain, which sends lavishly splashy cascades into an equally grand pool, is fed by water that has travelled 35km (22 miles) through a Trajan-era aqueduct from Lake Bracciano, to the north of Rome. Pope Paul V had Flamino Ponzio and Giovanni Fontana design the fountain for him in 1621, in a bid to out-do his predecessor Sixtus V, who had harnessed a third-century AD aqueduct to supply his Fontana dell'Acqua Felice 20 years earlier. A theatre is housed in the massive chamber above the fountain, offering outdoor performances in summer and an attractive café besides.