Fontanella dell'acqua Angelica a piazza delle Vaschette

This fountain, so called because it was originally fed by the Acqua Angelica, was built in 1898 by Francesco Buffa, on commission of the Municipality of Rome, on the left side of the church of S. Maria delle Grazie a Porta Angelica, between via di Porta Angelica and Borgo Angelico.

In 1930, when the church was demolished to widen via di Porta Angelica, as part of the construction of the new boundaries between the Italian State and the Vatican City, the fountain was moved to its present position. Leaning against a brick façade, about one metre lower than the street level, the fountain is accessible through two flights of curvilinear stairs. The water, now coming from the Acquedotto Vergine, gushes from a simple spout surmounted by the epigraph with the initials SPQR and fills a rectangular basin with a rounded edge, resting on a shaped foot. On the basin is set a travertine niche, bordered by a pair of pilasters supporting an arch, surmounted by a lunette within which is a shell valve with rolled edges. Slight mouldings design the surface between the two pilasters. The architrave bears the date of execution, '1898', while the frame of the arch bears the inscription 'ACQUA ANGELICA'.