Fountain of the Naiads

The Fountain of the Naiads stands at the centre of Piazza della Repubblica, directly facing the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian. Sculptor Mario Rutelli completed it in 1901 with four bronze naiads representing the waters of the ancient world: nymph of lakes with a swan, of rivers with a hippopotamus, of seas with a horse and of springs with an unusual lizard-like dragon. The unveiling caused a scandal in clerical Rome and the naked bronze quartet was hidden behind boards for days. Rutelli added the central Glaucus group in 1912, a muscular fisherman wrestling a dolphin. Today the basin works as a popular meeting and photo spot; in summer Romans pause to dip a hand in the water.