Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

Piazza Navona is unmatched anywhere else in the world for its remarkable beauty. The work of the twin geniuses of the Italian Baroque dominates the square, which was formerly an ancient racecourse but has been turned into a dramatic piece of street theater. Francesco Borromini produced the colorful chapel of Sant'Agnese in Agone, while his competitor Gianlorenzo Bernini designed the magnificent Fountain of the Four Rivers. Bernini's jaw-dropping fountain, commissioned by the Pamphilj Pope Innocent IX as part of the family's effort to turn the plaza into an epic monument to themselves, is arguably the pinnacle of Baroque architecture.

Personifications of the four major world rivers—the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube, and the River Plate—that were well-known in the 16th century sit atop rocky outcroppings beneath a massive ancient Egyptian obelisk. The personification of the Nile is possibly the most intriguing of the four fascinating statues, while each of the four rivers is unique in and of itself. The Nile hides his face behind a veil, according to some, either because of fear that Borromini's church may collapse on him and crush him or out of admiration for the genius of the builder. More likely, it was because the origin of the Nile, a long-lasting geographical mystery that was memorialized in stone, was unknown.

Location: Piazza Navona, 00186 Roma RM, Italy