The centerpiece of Piazza Navona, this fountain was designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced onto the piazza. The statuary includes four river gods representing four great rivers on the four continents recognized by Renaissance geographers: the Nile in Africa, the Danube in Europe, the Ganges in Asia, and the Río de la Plata in the Americas. A 16 meter obelisk, originally built for the Roman Serapeum in AD 81, is in the center. At the top is Pamphili family emblem of a dove with an olive twig.