The fountain was built by Roman architect Costantino Fiaschetti between 1746 and 1748. Its scenic façade features simple pilaster strips below, and a richly sculpted front above, of which the 1626 Barberini memorial designed by Carlo Maderno is the main feature.
A public fountain was already present during the period of the Communes, that was rebuilt in 1433; it stood just in front of the present fountain and was pulled down in 1746. The place of the present fountain was previously occupied by the Romanesque church of San Donato, already much ruined in the second half of the 16th century and therefore replaced by a public watch first and then, in 1626, by a monument dedicated to the Barberinis.

L’Umbria, Manuali per il Territorio, Spoleto, Roma 1978