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The fountain is also called “of the Dioscuri” the mythical twin brothers sons of Zeus and Leda, represented in the act of holding two powerful horses. Before 1589 the statues, Roman copies of Greek fifth century BC originals coming from the Thermae of Constantine, were turned towards the building that today is the residence of Palazzo della Consulta, and were arranged in parallel. Since they were not visible from the quadrivium of the Quattro Fontane, pope Sixtus the Fifth Peretti (1585-1590) decided to move them further back, in order to harmonically close the view of Strada Pia (today Via XX Settembre) on the side of the Quirinal Hill. The work was commissioned to Domenico Fontana, who moved the Dioscuri back and turned them towards Palazzo Quirinale, aligning them at a short distance from one another. A fountain decorated with the coat of arms of Sixtus the Fifth was also built in front of the statues. In 1782 under Pious the Sixth Braschi (1775-1799) the architect Antinori, resumed the project of Alexander the Seventh Chigi (1655-1667) to separate the group of the Dioscuri, by putting an obelisk coming from the Mausoleum of Augustus between them, and dismantled the fountain of Sixtus the Fifth. Antinori also suggested to place a new fountain in the middle, consisting of a granite pond that at that time was situated in campo vaccino and acted as a trough for animals. The works for the construction of this new fountain were interrupted by the events of Napoleon and resumed in 1816, when pope Pious the Seventh Chiaramonti (1800-1823) commissioned their completion to Raffaele Stern. The pond in the campo vaccino was unearthed and restored by Carlo Fea in 1818. It was finally put in place, supported by its ancient pedestal in the middle of a large pool at the ground level. No trace remains of the previous fountain built by Domenico Fontana for Sixtus the Fifth. It was probably destroyed during Antinori’s interventions.