Walks in Rome (Est. 2001)
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Walking Tours of Rome

The Fountains of Rome


Fountain of the Bees


Map
Fountain of the Bees by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Via Veneto, Rome
Fountain of the Bees

The Fontana delle Api (Fountain of the Bees, 1644) was created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44), a member of the Barberini family, whose coat of arms comprises three bees.

The delightful little fountain, which stands at one end of the Via Veneto, takes the form of a bee's outspread wing. 

The fountain bears an inscription in Latin: 'VRBANVS VIII PONTIFEX MAXIMVS FONTI AD PVBLICVM VRBIS ORNAMENTVM EXSTRVCTO SINGVLARVM VSIBVS SEORSIM COMMODITATE HAC CONSVLVIT ANNO MDCXLIV PONT XXI' ('Urban VIII Pontifex Maximus, having built a fountain for the public ornamentation of the city, also built this little fountain to be of service to private citizens in the year 1644, the eleventh of his pontificate').

The phrase 'public ornamentation' is a reference to the nearby Fontana del Tritone (Triton Fountain), which Bernini had completed the year before. 

Private and SMALL-GROUP walking Tours of Rome

Copyright © David Lown 2001-2021. All Rights Reserved. 
  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Small-Group Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque