Ninfeo di Alessandro - Roma, Italy
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The Nymphaeum of Alexander (Italian Ninfeo di Alessandro) is a fountain of ancient Rome, whose remains are preserved in the northern corner of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II in the Rione Esquilino.
Waymark Code: WM110DW
Location: Lazio, Italy
Date Posted: 07/23/2019
Views: 2
This monumental fountain serves as a final reservoir for the waters conveyed to Rome by the Aqua Julia aqueduct. The nymphaeum has all the characteristics of a triumphal monument. Its construction could date from 226 AD, during the reign of Emperor Severus Alexander.
The original appearance of the nymphaeum is known thanks to its representation on a medallion dated 226 as well as on several coins struck the same year. The building is decorated with cornices and columns of Corinthian order and consists of two concrete floors covered with bricks. The lower floor follows a rectangular plan, richly decorated. The water flows from a variety of niches placed between the two floors, forming a podium for the upper floor. It feeds a large semi-circular basin located at the level of the lower floor. The upper floor consists of a large exedra framed by two open arches. This floor is surmounted by an attic decorated with a quadriga framed by Victories holding trophies.
Lateral niches were home to marble trophies (trophaea), removed in 1590 by order of Sixte V to be installed on a balustrade in Piazza del Campidoglio. The statues of the trophies predate the construction of the nymphaeum and probably date from the reign of Domitian, perhaps carried out on the occasion of the double triumph that the emperor celebrates for his victories over Pussies and Dacians in 89 AD. They were placed on the nymphaeum only in the third century.
During the Middle Ages, the construction of the Nymphaeum is attributed to Caius Marius who would have celebrated his triumph on the Cimbri. The monument is named Cimbrum on documents of the twelfth century, even as templum Marii or as Marii Cimbrum. According to his medieval sources, Marius would have financed the construction with the loot collected after the battle of Vercelli. This hypothesis led to mistaken identification of the marble trophies that adorned the lateral niches of the Nymphaeum at Marius' Trophies of Marius on the Capitol to commemorate his victories over Jugurtha, the Cimbri and the Teutons. Even today, the remains of the Nymphaeum are known as Trofei di Mario.
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