Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

You may wish to see an introductory page to this section or a page on the Vale of L'Aquila or a historical outline of the town first.

Fontana delle 99 Cannelle near Porta Rivera

The Riviera, or great fountain, of Aquila, is curious; it was built in 1272, and is a quadrangular court of red and white stone, surrounded by ninetynine little fountains, each, it is commonly said, representing one of the communities which were originally united to form the city. The Riviera is generally crowded with washerwomen.
Edward Lear - Illustrated Excursions in Italy - 1846
It is situated in the south-western and lowest part of the town not far from the River Aterno.

Fontana delle 99 Cannelle: (left) central section, the oldest one; (right) 1494 coat of arms of L'Aquila above an inscription decorated with the Angevin fleur-de-lis and stating that the fountain was built in 1272

Initially the fountain had 15 spouts. In 1294 at the time of the coronation of Pope Celestine V at S. Maria di Collemaggio the wall was decorated with red and white stones. By the end of the XVth century 19 other spouts had been added. Margaret of Austria, who ruled over Abruzzo in 1571-1584, commissioned the construction of the lateral sides which turned the fountain into a piazza and 59 spouts were added. Margaret had a fiefdom (Castelmadama) near Tivoli and was aware of the fountains which were built there by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este.

Fontana delle 99 Cannelle: details of its design and of its spouts

The fountain was named as if it had 99 spouts, but the last six ones were added in 1871. Since antiquity heads of lions were the most usual decoration of spouts (e.g. at Paestum and Baalbek), but in this fountain they are mixed with human heads and fantastical animals.

Fountains: (left) near S. Marciano (XVth century); (right) near S. Maria di Paganica (XVIIth century)

The water, which abundantly supplies its numerous fountains, is brought by means of an aqueduct along a distance of four miles from a neighbouring mountain.
Keppel Richard Craven - Excursions in the Abruzzi and northern provinces of Naples - 1838
The water of Fontana delle 99 Cannelle came from the nearby river, but that of the fountains in the upper part of the town came from an aqueduct which reached the floor level of the Spanish Castle by an underground siphon. You may wish to see the above ground medieval aqueduct of Sulmona.

(left) An illustration by Edward Lear; (right) Casa di Buccio di Ranallo (XIVth century) and the apse of S. Maria di Paganica

October 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 1843. These days were passed in Aquila, where the air was now exceedingly cold, and its deserted streets seemed no livelier now that I walked them alone. This vignette represents one of the many old houses in Aquila remarkable for the variety of their Gothic windows, etc. Lear

"Le Cancelle" meaning "The Shutters"

In 1922 a new Central Post Office was built on the site of four XVth century shops in the main square of the town. In the XIXth century the shops were used to sell fish, but earlier on they might have housed a more noble trade; they were dismantled and rebuilt in a nearby street.

(left) Palazzo Cappa Camponeschi opposite S. Maria di Paganica; (right) Palazzo Alfieri near Porta Bazzano

Aquila contains many ancient families in easy circumstances, whose habitations exhibit an appearance of affluence and respectability superior to most other provincial cities in the kingdom. Craven
After the 1703 earthquake the great majority of the palaces of the local nobility were entirely rebuilt in the style of the time. Only a few of them retain some architectural features of the XVth and XVIth centuries.

Palazzo Ardinghelli, adjoining Palazzo Cappa Camponeschi

This palace was designed after the 1703 earthquake on the basis of a project by Francesco Fontana, son of Carlo Fontana, the leading architect in Rome. Its construction however took a very long time during which the Ardinghelli family became extinct. The fact that it had been acquired by the Italian State led to its rapid restoration after the 2009 earthquake and it now houses a section of MAXXI, the Roman Museum of Arts of the XXIth century.

July 2023: (left) coat of arms at Palazzo Persichetti in the Belvedere neighbourhood; (right) portal of Palazzo Centi Colella opposite S. Giusta

The interior of the city of Aquila recalls to the traveller's recollection some portions of Rome: many circumstances combine to corroborate this resemblance; but none more strikingly than the number of large churches, well built palaces, and the depopulated and singularly lonesome aspect of its streets. Craven
The palaces, perhaps more than the churches, were greatly damaged in 2009. Their restoration will most likely be only partial.
The image used as background for this page shows a coat of arms of King Charles II in a 1675 monument.

(left) 1903 Monument to Sallust, a Roman historian who was born at Amiternum near L'Aquila, by Cesare Zocchi; (right) Temporary Auditorium designed by Renzo Piano in 2012

Other pages on L'Aquila: The Vale of L'Aquila, Historical outline, S. Maria di Collemaggio, S. Bernardino and Other churches.

Go to:
Introductory page to this section
Alba Fucens
Amatrice
Amiternum
Antrodoco
Atri - the Town
Atri - the Cathedral
Avezzano
Borgocollefegato and the Cicolano
Carsoli
Celano
Chieti
Chieti - Roman memories
Cittaducale
Lanciano
Leonessa - The Town
Leonessa - The Churches
Luco and Trasacco
Montereale
Penne
Pescara
S. Benedetto dei Marsi and Pescina
Roman Sulmona
Medieval Sulmona
Renaissance Sulmona
XVIIIth century Sulmona
Sulmona: Easter Day Ceremony (La Madonna che scappa - The Fleeing Madonna)
Tagliacozzo
Teramo
Appendix - Other excerpts and illustrations from Lear's book covering minor towns and sites