The small fountain in Via della Scrofa

The small marble sow that gives the street its name, perhaps the fragment of an ancient bas-relief, is documented since 1445 as applied to the wall of the former convent of Sant’Agostino, today the seat of the Avvocatura Generale dello Stato .

Under the pontificate of Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572-1585), the sow was transformed into a fountain with the simple addition of a basin under the animal, from whose mouth water gushed.

In 1873, the road was widened, and the basin was moved to the corner of via dei Portoghesi, where it still stands today. The bas-relief, instead, remained, devoid of water, in its original position.

A modern plaque recalls its ancient function: “In this place was the fountain, moved to the corner of via dei Portuguese, in the year 1874.”