In
a city famous for its fountains, this one stands apart
from the others because it lacks the ambition and
grandeur of the others. Instead of great crashing
torrents, the water flows out at a leisurely gurgle.
No one is sure exactly what the fountain is supposed
to honor. It is the form of a half-sunken ship with
the water flowing out of it. Some see it as the ship
of the Church eternally afloat in spite of impossible
odds. Others think this marks the place where the
Roman emperor Domitian built his great water stadium
where sea battles were held. Another theory postulates
that the fountain serves as a reminder that this part
of Rome was often flooded by the Tiber River. Pope
Urban VIII commissioned the fountain, and reopened
an ancient aqueduct in the 17th century, providing
water to this otherwise parched area. That has spawned
a fourth theory about the fountain -- that its gentle
form was simply a necessity in a part of the city
with such low water pressure.