The Trevi Fountain

The Fontana di Trevi is one of the best known sights of Rome, thanks at least in part to its role in Fellini's film La Dolce Vita. Here it was that Anita Ekberg did her splashing about. You won't want to do the same thing, however; there is bleach in the water now.

Things to See

The fountain was designed in 1732 by Niccolò Salvi, who won a competition held by the pope Clement XII. It was designed on the site of an earlier and uncompleted fountain by Bernini, and built onto the back of a newly completed palazzo. The palazzo had only just been completed by the Duke of Poli, and he had designed a small recess into the building to allow for a modest fountain. Instead of using this recess, Clement XII allowed Salvi to take up the entire end of the building, brushing aside the Duke's protests. After all, it may have been the Duke's building, but it was the pope's water. The fountain took thirty years to complete, by which time Salvi was dead.

The Aqua Virgo

The site is historically that of the terminus of the Aqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts that supplied ancient Rome with water. The aqueduct was named after a legend that the spring which provided its source was discovered with the help of a young girl named 'Trivia'. (The name is unlikely, as it is Latin for 'three roads' which would be an odd name for a girl, and is probably more related to the fact that the fountain was built on the intersection of three roads. So the name might have been a nickname, or of course the whole story might have been made up.)

The story of Trivia, and of Agrippa's subsequent development of the aqueduct, is depicted in parts of the decoration and would have been a more prominent theme, with statues of Agrippa and the girl, had the plans not been changed after Salvi's death.

Getting There

Wandering around the centre of Rome, its surprising how often you will find yourself at the Trevi Fountain. You hear the rush of water first, and the hum from the crowds of tourists photographing each other, throwing coins into the fountain or defending themselves from the numerous sellers of plastic bubbleguns and strange rubbery spheres. It's a two minute walk from the Quirinale palace, and it's the first station on a pleasant short walk that will take you past the Pantheon and ends up at Piazza Navona.