The beauty and grandeur of the Trevi Fountain has attracted travelers from all over the world for centuries. Near him, they take pictures and make films, make wishes, confess their love and offer a hand and heart. There are many fountains in Rome, but it was the Trevi Fountain that became one of the symbols of the Eternal City. Why? Probably because it is fully consistent with the idea of the Italian capital as the capital of the Roman Empire.
The Trevi Fountain is not just a statue in a bowl of water, but a symbolic sculptural composition. Its height is 25.9 m, its width is 19.8 m. However, finding it in the maze of Roman streets is not so simple, despite the fact that numerous pointers lead to it, and it is in the navigator databases. But first things first.
Trevi Fountain: where does the name come from?
Nowadays, fountains are an ornament of large and small cities. And in the days of antiquity and in the Middle Ages they had a purely utilitarian significance - they were open containers of running fresh water.
In Rome, the era of the Empire, fountains, as well as baths, houses of citizens and palaces, were supplied with water using aqueducts. One of them was Aqua Virgo (that is, the Virgo Aqueduct), drawn from a source located 13 km from the city. He got this name because, according to legend, a local girl pointed to it to the soldiers of the Empire.
Trevi Fountain - a sculptural composition, talentedly inscribed in the Palazzo Poli
Aqua Virgo, supplying the city with water, regularly worked until 537, until the Goths again attacked Rome. However, after 2 centuries, the aqueduct was restored and maintained in good condition until the 12th century, after which it was reconstructed and connected to a source located much closer in the village of Trebium. The name of this place in vulgar Latin and sounded like "Trevi".
According to another version, the Trevi Fountain in Rome got its name also thanks to Aqua Virgo, or rather, the old fountain in the center of the city, which he supplied with water. This fountain, the first mention of which dates back to 1410, was located at the intersection of 3 streets on the eastern slope of Kvirinalsky hill. Water jets beat from three marble masks: each street has its own source. The crossroads was called Treio. The fountain, respectively, was called the "Treio Fountain" or, as the locals adapted this name, the "Trevi Fountain".
Trevi Fountain: and again Bernini
In 1640, Urban VIII commissioned Bernini to design a new fountain instead of the old one, in order to "balance" the newly built Palazzo Borromeo and Palazzo Barberini. Papa’s interest in reconstructing the fountain was simply explained: Urban VIII was called Matteo Barberini before intronization, and Borromeo were direct competitors to his family.
Bernini, by that time, was already a famous sculptor and architect: sculptures in the Palazzo Pitti, reconstruction of the square of St. Peter's Basilica - all this was his work. He failed only to the chapel, which disfigured, according to the townspeople, the Pantheon in Rome.
Above Neptune there is a sign made in honor of Pope Clement XII
According to the sculptor and architect, in his spare time from papal orders, he was engaged in the design of scenery for performances, updated Trevi Fountain in Rome had to take the form of an amphitheater and “tell” the story of the discovery of a source that feeds the Virgo aqueduct. The key figure in the composition was to be the figure of the Virgin. So then the name of the aqueduct was deciphered: the virgin was understood as the Virgin Mary.
Money for the project was found quickly, for which, however, it was necessary to introduce a new wine tax, but just as quickly and ended because of the war with Parma. And after 4 years, the project was completely frozen due to the death of Urban VIII and "unexpectedly" surfaced fraud conducted by his family.
Bernini became objectionable to the new pope. True, the sketches of the fountain have been preserved. But the Rome authorities turned to the idea of reconstructing the Trevi Fountain only at the beginning of the 18th century.
Trevi Fountain: The Final Version
In 1678, the Palazzo Borromeo was acquired by Joseph Conti, Duke of Pauli and became known as the Palazzo Pauli (now the National Institute of Graphics is located in this building). Gradually, the duke bought and adjacent buildings, demolished them and expanded the palace. The fountain had to be either urgently reconstructed or left unchanged. Otherwise, its construction could cause damage to the houses that were planned to be erected on Trevi Square.
He began to consider new projects at the very beginning of the XVIII century. Pope Clement XI, and in 1721 Michelangelo Conti from the Poly family was elected a new pontiff under the name Innocent XIII. The case went more fun, even despite the fact that the pontificate Innocent XIII lasted only 3 years: the owners of the Palazzo Poli managed to persuade in a relative way to brick the windows on the central facade of the building.
Statue of Neptune. Trevi Fountain
Another pope, Benedict XIII, relied on architects from southern Italy, since he himself was from Puglia. However, the presented sketches were extremely unsuccessful. The final version was approved by the next pope, Clement XII of the Albany clan, among whose representatives there were many patrons. The author of the final version of the project was the architect Nicolo Salvi.
Salvi borrowed the idea of Bernini and finally “told” through the architectural and sculptural composition the history of the Virgo aqueduct, now correctly deciphered. The erection of the fountain lasted from 1732 to 1762 with the involvement of a number of famous sculptors.
The entire lower tier of the fountain is a rocky cliff from which water flows. In the center of the composition is placed the figure of the Ocean (or Neptune) as a symbol of water spaces. The ocean is half-sitting on the sink, and seahorses and newts are pulling it like a chariot. It seems that God is as if leaving a niche-triumphal arch. And on the left, his “chariot” is pulled up by rearing “horses”, on the right - pacified, which symbolizes a worrying and calm sea.
You can walk from Venice Square to the Trevi Fountain
On both sides of the central figure are bas-reliefs. One of them with a figure symbolizing Aqua Virgo (aqueduct), the other with a sculpture of a girl pointing to the source. A commemorative inscription above the head of Neptune is in honor of Pope Clement XIII. Four allegorical figures on both sides are symbols of fertility, which is impossible without water. The composition is in perfect harmony with the Palazzo Poli in the background.
June 2007 Trevi Fountain unexpectedly lost its symbolic meaning: Aqua Virgo was badly damaged during the construction of underground garages. Now the fountain is connected to other aqueducts.
How to get to the Trevi Fountain and what to do there
The Trevi Fountain, as one of the main attractions of Rome, has more than once become the scene of action and even almost the hero of films. The most famous are “Roman Vacations” with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, “Sweet Life” with Marcello Mastroianni, “Madly in Love” with Adriano Celentano and Ornella Muti. And that's why it is worth it to visit.
The easiest way to enjoy the fountain at any time of the day or night is to live next to it. Moreover, there are many hotels in the immediate vicinity - for every taste and color. You can find a complete selection of hotels near the Fountain along with current prices here.
To find the Trevi Fountain will have to stray among the Roman streets
If you are not lucky with housing, then this is also fearless. To reach the fountain on foot you need to go either from the Piazza del Popolo, or from Piazza Venezia with the monument to Victor Emmanuel II, or from Piazza di Spagna, near which the Borghese Gallery is located, via Via del Corso.
In order not to get lost in an unfamiliar city, be sure to download our Romeo Guide BlogoItaliano application to your phone - it shows all the main attractions, shops, restaurants, etc. on a map that works without the Internet.
By the way, here, nearby, is the Roman Pantheon. After examining it, return to Via del Corso and go to the intersection with Via delle Muratte. When you reach the Via delle Muratte, you will very soon see the Trevi Fountain.
You can make it easier by going down the Rome metro and reaching the Barberini - Trevi Fountain station on line A. After that, go along Via di Tritone to Via delle Stamperia, turn onto it and walk a few tens of meters to the fountain. If this route seems too complicated, you should take a taxi to save time on your searches.
The fountain is always not a lot, but a lot of people. At any time of the day, year and in any weather. The crowd disperses a little just before dawn. You can wait, especially since there are a lot of restaurants and cafes in the district where you can sit until the morning. However, in this case you will not see how beautiful Trevi Fountain at night in soft backlight.
You shouldn’t yawn in the crowd. If you are going to take a closer look at the fountain, take a good photo, throw coins or drink from the "lovers' tubes" (on the right side of the fountain), handbags and wallets should be held tight in your hands. There are a lot of people in the square who want to “help” you take a picture or at least sell expensive penny trinkets.
The Trevi Fountain has more than once become the scene of movies
And about the coins, which are collected in the fountain for one and a half thousand euros every week, not counting other currencies. You need to throw three coins three times over the right shoulder with your left hand, standing with your back to the fountain: to return to Rome, to fall in love in Rome, to play a wedding in Rome.
P.S. By the way, most excursions, which include the Trevi Fountain, are in English. It is understandable - there are much more foreign tourists in the city than “ours”. But if you want to see the Fountain (and other attractions of the center), you can also with a Russian-speaking guide or excursion. You can also find out about their timetable, including from Lela, to whom BlogoItaliano devoted a separate article to the Guide to Rome: his man in the Eternal City.
Useful links
- Best selection of hotels near Trevi Fountain
- Rome center map + public transport
- Metro in Rome: map, cost and time
- 3 Star Hotels in the Center of Rome
- Attractions in Rome where you can buy tickets online
Photos by: Oliver Regelmann, soleiletoile, oriana.italy, Benson Kua, Johanna Loock, Christopher Chan, HarveyMW.
