Dome

One of the four basins in the form of a stylized shell, side view; Between 1585 and 1588 Landini executed his most famous work, the so-called Fonte delle Tartarughe (Rome, Piazza Mattei), named after the tortoises (added in 1658) that clamber from the bronze youths’ hands into the upper basin of the fountain. Although the overall design was made in collaboration with Giacomo della Porta, Landini was solely responsible for the spirited boys (ephebes), whose lively poses and arrangement around the basin recall Florentine fountain designs of the previous generation. The ephebes, raise their arm towards the overhanging marble basin. In the original plans they touched another four bronze dolphins spouting water. These were removed because of a problem with water pressure serving the fountain. Pope Alexander VII commissioned a restoration of the fountain in 1658-1659. As a part of this restoration, Bernini (or Andrea Sacchi) added the struggling tortoises to complete the composition. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 7/29/2010)