Fontana della Piazza dei Quiriti Fontana della Piazza dei Quiriti Piazza dei Quiriti is a plaza in Rome in the middle of the Prati rione. It is named after the inhabitants of the city of Cures, the "Curites" or later "Quirites", namely the Sabines, who became inhabitants and co-founders of Rome. Another theory derives the name from the god Quirinus, a Roman deity. Near the square stands the church of St. Joachim, completed in 1898 by architect Raffaele Ingami. Its purpose was to solemnize the priestly and episcopal jubilee of Leo XIII. A fountain called the "Fountain of the Caryatids" is placed in the center,
Palazzo Barberini awarded to Bernini, a young prodigy then better known as a sculptor. Borromini stayed on regardless and the two architects worked together, albeit briefly, on this project and at the Palazzo Spada. Works were completed by Bernini in 1633. After the Wars of Castro and the death of Urban VIII, the palace was confiscated by Pamphili Pope Innocent X and was only returned to the Barberini in 1653. The palazzo is disposed around a forecourt centered on Bernini's grand two-storey hall backed by an oval "salone", with an extended wing dominating the piazza, which lies on a lower level. At