For the Universal Exhibition in 1911, the Roman architect Cesare Bazzani (1873-1939) designed the twin Fontane di Valle Giulia, also known as the Fontane delle Tartarughe (Fountains of the Tortoises). The two fountains stand opposite the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (National Gallery of Modern Art), which Bazzani also built.
The two fountains were immortalised in the symphonic poem Fontane di Roma (1916) by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936). The first section, La fontana di Valle Giulia all'Alba(The Fountain of Valle Giulia at Dawn), depicts the fountain at daybreak, in a pastoral landscape through which cattle pass. How different the area is today!