The Bagno di Venere (Bath of Venus) s one of the most extravagantly ornate Baroque fountains to be found anywhere in Rome. The work of Leonardo Reti, the Bath of Venus is one of the three wall-fountains that adorn the beautiful garden of the Palazzo Borghese.
The other two fountains are the Fontana di Flora (Filippo Carcani) and the Fontana di Diana (Francesco Cavallini). All three fountains were created between 1671 and 1673.
The Palazzo Borghese, which is known as 'il Cembalo' (the Harpsichord), on account of its unusual ground-plan, was begun in the middle of the 16th century by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (1507-73). In 1604 it was acquired by Cardinal Camillo Borghese, who a year later became Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21). The property was duly enlarged under the direction of Flaminio Ponzio and, after his death in 1613, by Carlo Maderno and Giovanni Vasanzio.
