Fountains of Rome, P. 106

• Respighi wrote his symphonic poem, Fountains of Rome (Fontane di Roma) in 1916. This four-movement piece for orchestra would become the first in the composer’s “Roman Triptych” (also including Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals).
  1. La fontana di Valle Giulia all’alba (Dawn)
  2. La fontana del Tritone al mattino (Morning)
  3. La fontana di Trevi al meriggio (Midday)
  4. La fontana di Villa Medici al tramonto (Dusk)
• Each of the four fountains depicted in the music is observed at a different time of day (noted above),¹ “at the hour in which their character is most in harmony with the surrounding landscape.”

Respighi’s program note for the piece:

The first part of the poem, inspired by the Fountain of Valle Giulia, depicts a pastoral landscape. Droves of cattle pass and disappear in the fresh, damp mists of a Roman dawn. A sudden loud and insistent blast above the trills of the whole orchestra introduces the second part. It is like a joyous call, summoning troops of naiads and tritons, who come running up pursuing each other and mingling in a frenzied dance between the jets of water.

Next there appears a solemn theme, borne on the undulations of the orchestra. It is the Fountain of Trevi at midday. The solemn theme, passing from the woodwind to the brass instruments, assumes a triumphal character. Trumpets peal; across the radiant surface of the water passes Neptune’s chariot, drawn by sea-horses and followed by a train of sirens and tritons. The procession then vanishes, while faint trumpet blasts sound in the distance.

The fourth part is announced by a sad theme that rises above a subdued warbling. It is the nostalgic hour of sunset. The air is full of the sound of tolling bells, birds twittering, leaves rustling. Then all dies peacefully into the silence of the night.²

1. “Fontane di Roma (Respighi, Ottorino),” IMSLP, accessed February 11, 2026, https://imslp.org/wiki/Fontane_di_Roma_(Respighi,_Ottorino).
2. Dr. Michael Fink, “THE STORY BEHIND: Respighi’s ‘Fountains of Rome,'” RI Philharmonic (2023), accessed February 11, 2026, https://www.riphil.org/blog/the-story-behind-respighi-s-fountains-of-rome.