The Tortoise Fountain was strongly wanted by the Duke Antonio Mattei (a member of an important family of the Middle Ages that had hegemony over the entire left bank of the tiber river).The lengend tells that the Mattei Duke wanted to marry a beautiful and rich girl but her father didn’t want because as he said: "the duke was of noble origin but he was a penniless (uno squattrinato)!"
Look at the picture: the window at the right side of the main door, the small window...
As the Mattei knew it, he decided to show to his father in law what he was able to do in only one night and… realized the Tortoise Fountain in order to say "Ecco cosa e' capace di realizzare in poche ore uno 'squattrinato' Mattei" (here it is what is able to do a penniless mattei in only one night!!). Naturally the wedding was celebrated and, in order to nobody could never show at window (that one from which he saw the fountain for the first time), the mattei’s father in law decided to wall it and........
nowdays it’s still closed ….
