You see a tall conical fountain with statues of deities carved at its base, surrounded by a circular water basin with lovely reflecting pool. Its Latin name means "a sweating or streaming turning post," referring to the conical posts (metae) that stood at both ends of the central barrier in the Circus Maximus. You understand this metaphor of a turning post when you think about the extraordinary location of this fountain, which stands at the convergence point of at least four of the fourteen regions of Rome: Caelimontium (II), Isis et Serapis (III), Templum Pacis (IV), and Palatium (X)--possibly also Porta Capena (I). When the emperor Domitian erected this fountain, he was also marking the spot where triumphal parades turned to enter the Sacra Via and providing a cool, refreshing view and drink for the hot, dusty Romans emerging from the Colosseum after a long day at the games.