Here we are this week in place of the New Church, which is geographically located along 
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, not far from Piazza Navona. In the square tourists usually give little thought, even in the majestic New Church, which is rich in history and interesting things. Here we find a curious fountain … which is the object of our curiosity small weekly, the fountain called “The Tureen”.
This fountain has a small story to tell.
It, designed by Giacomo Della Porta, dates back to 1500, and was originally located here, but nearby, in Piazza Campo de ‘Fiori. More precisely, it was located where now stands the famous statue of Giordano Bruno.
Our “terrine” in 1600 it appeared quite different … The large tub, yet located below street level due to low water pressure virgin, it appeared without the “lid” that characterizes today, in addition to some time was also decorated with beautiful bronze dolphins, dolphins in the original design had to finish at the top of the fountain of the turtles (instead of the current turtles by Bernini).
The people in Campo de ‘Fiori often used to keep our fountain “al fresco” fruits, vegetables, flowers and various merchandise of market stalls, or alternatively as a receptacle for waste, and the result was really edifying . This saw Pope Gregory XV, who produced “plug” the elegant fountain with the current unappealing cover.
It was then that the Roman people, which we now know to be ready to sarcasm, taken ironically call the fountain “the bowl”, that is … “the bowl”!
After various adventures the bowl was made to place here, in Piazza della Chiesa Nuova, while in Piazza Campo de ‘Fiori are actually a fountain that is nothing more than a copy of it was once the bowl without its cover fake.
But a particularly interesting ancient bowl you can not see it in the new one.
We know that the poor philosopher Giordano Bruno in Campo de Fiori was burned alive … it was 1600, and we were in the middle of the Counter Reformation.
Well, they were tough times for the free-thinkers, and in fact the bowl “original” an unknown stonemason carved a sentence:
LOVE GOD AND NOT FAIL, FA ‘GOOD AND SAY LASSA MDCXXI
A sentence by no means “light” in that period, and in that place, it was interpreted as a stern warning, more or less defined as: “Be careful not to say heresies as others have done, or you will find yourself against the Holy Inquisition! ”
The phrase is worn by centuries … but looking looking … we can still find it on the lid of the bowl. It is a fine example of evidence of an age which, fortunately, is no more.