Fontana dei Dioscuri
The Fontana dei Dioscuri is the fountain set opposite the Palazzo del Quirinale, the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic in the Piazza del Quirinale.

The original fountain, which no longer exists, commissioned by Pope Sixtus V in 1588, had the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux statues, from Constantine I of Rome's Baths, moved to the piazza, from the site, thought to have been nearby, flanking it.

In the late 1780s by Antinori, was commissioned by Pope Pius VI, to make a better layout for the piazza and had the fountain and the Dioscuri moved, and included the large Obelisk which had been moved from the Campus Martius in the design.

Some time between, that original fountain was lost, and, in 1818 a new one, which can be seen today, was commissioned by Pope Pius VII and was designed by Raffaele Stern using an ancient granite Roman shell that had been found in the 16th century supported on top of a large basin. It was sited in front of the two statues with the obelisk between them.

In 1810, the Rome-based sculptor Paolo Triscornia sent the reduced copies of the Dioscuri to Saint Petersburg for his compatriot Giacomo Quarenghi. They were put up in front of the Saint Petersburg Manege six years later.
Q483453
fountain
Concept
Q223079
Palazzo del Quirinale
LOC
Q332711
President of the Italian Republic
PER
Q223079
Piazza del Quirinale
LOC
Q19546
Pope
Concept
Q133350
Sixtus V
PER
Q190103
Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux
MISC
Q8413
Constantine I of Rome
PER
Q6581615
Baths
Concept
Q207896
nearby
LOC
Q19546
Pope
Concept
Q128019
Pius VI
PER
Q170980
Obelisk
Concept
Q242839
Campus Martius
LOC
Q19546
Pope
Concept
Q124754
Pius VII
PER
Q2415339
Raffaele Stern
PER
Q170980
obelisk
Concept
None
Paolo Triscornia
UNK
Q656
Saint Petersburg
LOC
Q128623
Giacomo Quarenghi
PER
Q3287172
Saint Petersburg Manege
LOC
Q1227084
Fontana dei Dioscuri
Concept
1588-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1588
DATE
1780-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1780
DATE
1818-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1818
DATE
1810-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1810
DATE
+16^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
16
NUMBER
official residence
official residence
place of death