The Turtle Fountain (Italian: Fontana delle Tartarughe) is a little treasure hidden in the streets of the historic centre, close to Lungotevere. It is located in piazza Mattei, which comes from the name of the noble family owner of the building near the fountain.
The monument, built in 1581 by the sculptor Taddeo Landini and the architect Giacomo Della Porta, is made up of two levels. The first one is a marble base decorated with four conch shells and dolphins, which are dominated by four bronze ephebes putting their foot on the head of the dolphin and supporting the second level: a bowl surrounded by heads of putti, which spout water into the base below, and four little turtles climbing on the edge.
The original version represented eight dolphins and four of them decorate today the fountain in front of the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, in Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
According to the legend, a duke of the family Mattei was a famous gambler and during a night he lost his assets, so the father of the girl, who he loved, refused his marriage proposal.
The duke decided to prove to the father in law his valor, building an amazing fountain in a night. Thanks to this the couple get married and the window used to look at the monument was bricked up.
If you visit the fountain take the chance to walk throughout the ancient Jewish neighborhood and taste the Roman-Jewish food. One of the most famous dishes is called "carciofi alla giudia" (English: Jewish style artichokes), a particular kind of fried artichoke.
Here the recipe!
Jewish style artichokes
Peel off the external leaves from the artichokes, till you reach the inner leaves that are fresh and white at the base.
Cut the heart in half vertically to reveal the inner fuzzy..
Rub the heart with lemon, then place it in the bowl of lemon water.
When the artichokes are ready to cook, remove them from the lemon water.
Place the artichokes into the heated oil and let them fry for about 15 minutes, turning them once halfway through cooking, till artichokes are golden brown and the leaves are crisp.
Remove from the oil and let them drain on paper towels. Serve fried artichokes warm with salt.
The monument, built in 1581 by the sculptor Taddeo Landini and the architect Giacomo Della Porta, is made up of two levels. The first one is a marble base decorated with four conch shells and dolphins, which are dominated by four bronze ephebes putting their foot on the head of the dolphin and supporting the second level: a bowl surrounded by heads of putti, which spout water into the base below, and four little turtles climbing on the edge.
The original version represented eight dolphins and four of them decorate today the fountain in front of the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, in Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
According to the legend, a duke of the family Mattei was a famous gambler and during a night he lost his assets, so the father of the girl, who he loved, refused his marriage proposal.
The duke decided to prove to the father in law his valor, building an amazing fountain in a night. Thanks to this the couple get married and the window used to look at the monument was bricked up.
If you visit the fountain take the chance to walk throughout the ancient Jewish neighborhood and taste the Roman-Jewish food. One of the most famous dishes is called "carciofi alla giudia" (English: Jewish style artichokes), a particular kind of fried artichoke.
Here the recipe!
Jewish style artichokes
Peel off the external leaves from the artichokes, till you reach the inner leaves that are fresh and white at the base.
Cut the heart in half vertically to reveal the inner fuzzy..
Rub the heart with lemon, then place it in the bowl of lemon water.
When the artichokes are ready to cook, remove them from the lemon water.
Place the artichokes into the heated oil and let them fry for about 15 minutes, turning them once halfway through cooking, till artichokes are golden brown and the leaves are crisp.
Remove from the oil and let them drain on paper towels. Serve fried artichokes warm with salt.
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| The Turtle Fountain |
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| Fountain features © Domenico Casamassima |
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| Ephebes and turtles |
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| Jewish style artichokes |
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