In browsing today’s online edition of Il Messaggero, we note that a swarm of bees flew into Piazza di Spagna and claimed what is rightfully theres when they landed on Pope Urban VIII Barberini’s papal crest on the Fountain of the Barcaccia.
Those eCoolers already laughing about this will know that the fountain was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII Barberini and was completed in 1627 by Pietro Bernini and his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Knowing this, clever eCoolers will also be aware Barberini family coat of arms features three bees — and that residents and tourists alike take great pleasure in finding appearances of carved, cast, or painted bees on Barberini projects throughout Rome.
Thus, the visiting swarm (estimated to consist of some 30,000-40,000 bees) could not have landed in a more approriate place…unless of course, they’d headed straight for the Fontana delle Api, or Fountain of the Bees, located at the base of the Via Veneto and carved by Bernini, who completed the project in 1644. (see photo below)
The bees, by the way, were successfully and safely removed with the help of the Vigili Urbani and an apiculture expert.
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