The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is the most famous
and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. This impressive
monument dominates the small Trevi Square located in the Quirinale district.
Aqua Virgo
The Trevi Fountain is situated at the end of the Aqua
Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC by Agrippa, the son-in-law of Emperor
Augustus. The aqueduct brings water all the way from the Salone Springs
(approx. 21km from Rome) and supplies the fountains in the historic center of
Rome with water.
According to legend, Agrippa sent out a group of soldiers
to search for a spring near Rome. The spring was found after a young virgin
(virgo) showed the source to the soldiers, hence the name of the aqueduct.
Construction of the
Fountain
Already in the fifteenth century a small Trevi Fountain was
built here during the papacy of Nicholas V. In 1732, pope Clement XII
commissioned Nicola Salvi to create a large fountain at the Trevi Square to
replace the existing fountain. A previous undertaking to build the fountain
after a design by Bernini was halted a century earlier after the death of pope
Urban VIII. Salvi based his theatrical masterpiece on this design. He never saw
his monumental Baroque fountain completed. The Trevi Fountain was only
inaugurated in 1762, eleven years after Salvi had passed away.
The Fountain
The fountain, which is designed like a monumental triumphal
arch, was built against a wall of the Palazzo Poli. It measures twenty meters
wide and twenty-six meters high and occupies more than half the square.
The central figure of the fountain, standing in a large
niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He rides a shell-shaped chariot that is
pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the
horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the
fluctuating moods of the sea. The statues were sculpted by Pietro Bracci.
On the left hand side of Neptune is a statue representing
Abundance, the statue on the right represents Salubrity. Both these statues
were the work of Filippo della Valle.
Above the two allegorical statues are bas-reliefs. The one
on the left shows Agrippa, the general who built the aqueduct that carries
water to the fountain.
He is shown explaining his plan for the aqueduct to
Augustus. The bas-relief on the right captures the moment the virgin points to
the source of the spring. The allegorical statues on the top, in front of the
attic, symbolize the four seasons. Crowning the top is the coat of arms of pope
Clement XII.
Water flows over artificial rocks into a large semicircular
basin that represents the sea. Every day some eighty million liters of water
flow through the fountain. The water is reused to supply several other Roman
fountains, including the Fountain
of the Four Rivers, the Tortoise Fountain and the Fountain of the Old Boat
in front of the Spanish
Steps.
Tossing a Coin
Tradition has it that you will return to Rome if you throw
a coin into the fountain's water basin. You should toss it with your right hand
over your left shoulder (or left hand over your right shoulder) with your back
to the fountain. You're not allowed to look behind you while you're tossing the
coin but the fountain is so large it's basically impossible to miss.
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