One of the oldest representations of the fountain is in a fresco by Taddeo di Bartolo in Siena dating to 1412.

In 1453 pope Nicholas V commissioned to Leon battista Alberti the costruction of a new fountain in the actual Piazza de'Crociferi.

Subsequently, Sixtus IV restored a large portion of the pipes. Still today you can see in Via del nazareno a door with the Pope's Crest that leads to the Acqueduct arches underground.

Pius IV commissioned to Jacopo Della Porta the building of a new fountain and the restoration of the pipes up to the original ancient source.

The project was completed in 1570 by Pius V. The fountain was now in the square where it is today but had a different orientation. It was were the farmacy is now and was facing west.

Pope Urbanus VIII decided to change the orientation of the fountain so it would be possible to see it from the Papal Palace on the Quirinal Hill. The project was designed by Bernini but was never completed due to lack of funds.

In 1730 Pope Clemens XII established a contest to design a new fountain. Many important architects participated including Luigi Vanvitelli, Nicola Salvi, Pietro Bracci, Giambattista Maini, Edme Bouchardon, Lambert-Sigisbert (Adam the Elder), Ferdinando Fuga, and Giambattista Contini.

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