The entrances to the Baths of Diocletian and Santa Maria degli Angeli face Piazza della Repubblica. In the center of Republic Square is the Fountain of the Naiads. A naiad is predominately a female freshwater spirit. Encircling the basin are four naked nymphs. Three of them represent the lakes, rivers and underground waters. This one riding a horse is symbolic of the oceans. Beginning in 1888, the fountain was located at Piazza Esedra at the site of an aqueduct called Aqua Pia. Before it was moved here in 1901, the original four lions were replaced with the current ensemble of bronze naiads carved by Mario Rutelli. The central figure of Glaucus, the son of Poseidon, was added in 1912.
