Fontanone Gianicoloand the panorama of Rome

The construction of the Fontanone dell'Acqua Paola (Fontanone del Gianicolo) dates back to the period between 1610 and 1614 thanks to the architects Giovanni Fontana (1540-1614), Flaminio Ponzio (1560-1613) and the sculptor Ippolito Buzio (1562-1634) as the terminal exhibition of the Trajan-Paul Aqueduct, at the behest of Pope Paul V Borghese (1605-1621), whose emblems (dragon and eagle) occur in several places on the monument, it is known as the "Fontanone del Gianicolo" dominating the large terrace which overlooks the city.

The fountain consists of five large arches flanked by columns and a large attic with a dedicatory inscription. For the decorative part, white and polychrome marbles were used, coming from the Roman Forum and the Temple of Minerva at the Forum of Nerva, while the columns, in red and gray granite, belonged to the ancient Constantinian basilica of St. Peter.

At the end of the 1600s the architect Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) modified the façade, giving the fountain its current shape: a monumental marble basin was added to replace the five collection basins, originally inserted between the intercolumns of the arches.