Technically not a walk, but I certainly encountered it on a walk.

At the edge of Piazza Navona, near Via di Pasquino,
you’ll find Fontana del Moro, which features of of my favorite figures in the square: a man wrestling a dolphin.
Giacomo della Porta created the fountain in 1575*; Bernini added the Moor in 1673. The other fountains in the square–Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Bernini, 1651) and–Fontana del Nettuno (della Porta, 1574) are certainly glorious, but, for me, the Moor’s energy and movement elevate it above the Piazza’s Neptunes and Rivers.

In 1874, a replica statue was installed as the original statue moved to the Galleria Borghese, which is a half hour walk (or seven minute car ride) away from Piazza Navona. Borghese was a major collector of Bernini’s works, so it’s fitting. It’s also a good thing as, in 2011, a 52 year old man was arrested for vandalizing Fontana del Moro as well as Fontana di Trevi with a rock.
* I had initially misdated the fountain as “1675.” Thanks to a reader who noted that this date was incorrect!
Thank you for leaving your comment; the most direct response I have is that the line includes a typo. The basins were created in 1575 (not in 1675).
Thank you again.
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Thank you for your photos and exposition.
However, unlike the fountain, your timeline doesn’t hold water. If Giacomo della Porta (1533–1602) created the fountain in 1675, how did Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) add the Moor in 1673, two years prior to the fountain’s creation? And how did Giacomo della Porta posthumously create the fountain more than 70 years after his death?
Note: An interlocutor just said “We don’t want to wrestle a dolphin.” Having never heard this idiom, I performed a [brand not specified] internet search. This was the first result.
Thank you once again.
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It is not easy to wrestle a dolphin (not that I have tried 😉)… The statue, as so many artworks in Rome is breathtaking. And I love your pigeon model in the second photo!
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