Lot Essay
The Fountain of the Four Rivers was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) for Pope Innocent X, whose family palace faced onto the Piazza Navona. It depicts four river gods, each representing the major rivers of the four continents which were under papal rule: the Nile for Africa, the Danube for Europe, the Ganges for Asia and the Rio de la Plata for the Americas.