Fontana delle Tartarughe (Turtle Fountain)

A late-Renaissance fountain (1581) hidden in the small Piazza Mattei in the Jewish Ghetto, designed by Giacomo della Porta with bronze figures by Taddeo Landini. Four nude youths each hold a dolphin while balancing turtles being pushed up into the upper basin — but the famous turtles weren't original. Added during a 17th-century restoration, possibly by Bernini himself, they transformed the fountain into one of Rome's most charming sights. Visit early morning when the small piazza is genuinely quiet.