Trevi Fountain

Landmark · Trevi (Rione Trevi)Rome,Italy

A Baroque wall of water filling a small Roman square, Oceanus in a shell chariot, still fed by an aqueduct opened in 19 BC.

The Trevi Fountain is a Baroque wall of water built against the whole front of a palace. You hear it before you see it, the roar bouncing off narrow lanes until the square opens and the wall pours down in front of you. Oceanus stands at the centre in a shell chariot drawn by two sea horses, one rearing and one held in check. Water the colour of jade slides over carved reefs into the basin below. The water arrives through the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct that Agrippa's engineers opened in 19 BC and Rome has never let run dry. Nicola Salvi won the commission in 1732 and shaped the theatre you see until his death in 1751; others finished it in 1762. The old ritual endures: a coin flicked over the shoulder to promise a return to Rome. The crowd is constant now and the ledges are off limits, yet the sound and the light on wet stone still hold everyone in place.

Worth knowing

Good to know

The lower terrace is capped now — about four hundred people at a time go down to the basin, in by the central stair and out the far side, so Salvi's low angle comes with a queue.
The square empties a second time near midnight — the floodlights cut the reef into deep shadow and bright edge, the jade water glows, and the roar fills the emptiness.
Find the small twin-spout fountain tucked to one side — locals call it the little fountain of lovers; the old tradition says couples who drink from it will stay true to each other.
Hunt for the plain stone vase on the right balustrade — locals call it the Asso di Coppe; the story says Salvi set it there to block the window of a barber who kept mocking his design.
Throw with the right hand over the left shoulder — that is the whole ritual as Romans do it; the three-toss tally (return, romance, wedding) is a 1950s film invention.

Things to do

1
Arrive before the city wakes
Come at first light, before the tour groups and before the lower basin opens to visitors. The square is nearly empty then, and the low sun turns the wet travertine gold so the carved reef glows rather than glares. It is the one hour you can hear the water clearly.
2
Read the two moods of the sea
Get down to the lower level and work up the wall from the water. The two sea horses are one animal in two tempers, one fighting the rein and one held calm, and behind each of them a Triton blows a conch. Then let your eye climb the rock to Oceanus, who is not standing on the reef but riding out of it.