Pope Urban VIII wanted a public ornament for the city and also a utility service to place in the center of the square dominated by his family's brand-new palace.

His head is thrown back and his arms raise a conch to his lips; from it a jet of water spurts, formerly rising dramatically higher than it does today.

The fountain has a base of four dolphins[b] that entwine the papal tiara with crossed keys and the heraldic Barberini bees in their scaly tails.

Bernini has represented the triton to illustrate the triumphant passage from Ovid's Metamorphoses book I, evoking godlike control over the waters and describing the draining away of the Universal Deluge.

However, it is a tribute to the artistic judgement of Bernini that even now, with tall buildings around the traffic-ridden piazza, the Triton Fountain can still maintain a dramatic presence.