The decorations in lava stone were carried out by the sculptor Pompeo Castiglia from Marino, and by the mason Pietro Taccia. The fountain is overcome by a marble column with a Corinthian capital, illustrating the crest of the Colonna family, showing four ottoman prisoners chained to the column and the basin supported by eight mermaids, another symbol of the family.

During the Second World War bombings, the Colonna Palace collapsed over the fountain, which at that time was in Piazza Lepanto. In 1969, it was rebuilt by sculptors from Marino and placed in Piazza Matteotti. The fountain is linked to the “miracle” of the fountains that provide wine instead of water during the Sagra dell’Uva, this being the first fountain to do so on 4th October 1925.

Completing the square are the two surviving towers of the medieval fortress of the Frangipane, one of which had been incorporated in a block of houses.