Description
The Fountain of the Four Continents is the Baroque fountain in the middle of Piazza Unità d'Italia in Trieste, lined up with the town hall: carved between 1751 and 1754 by Giovanni Battista Mazzoleni from Bergamo, it celebrates the city grown rich on its free port.
Four statues represent Europe, Asia, Africa and America, the continents known at the time, with four rivers from which the water flowed. The Nile has a veiled face, because its sources were still unknown. On top, a winged figure with open arms is Trieste, among bales of cotton and ropes.
In 1938, for Mussolini's visit, the fountain was taken apart and shut away in the Orto Lapidario. It only came back to the square in 1970, slightly moved, and in 2000 it regained its place in the center.
Four statues represent Europe, Asia, Africa and America, the continents known at the time, with four rivers from which the water flowed. The Nile has a veiled face, because its sources were still unknown. On top, a winged figure with open arms is Trieste, among bales of cotton and ropes.
In 1938, for Mussolini's visit, the fountain was taken apart and shut away in the Orto Lapidario. It only came back to the square in 1970, slightly moved, and in 2000 it regained its place in the center.