Location
The Trevi Fountain is in the Trevi Square in the Quirinale district of Rome. At 85 feet high, it stands as the largest Baroque fountain in Rome. Other notable sights nearby are the Spanish Steps and the Piazza Navona.
Customs
Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Valeriano Della Longa
Visitors to the Trevi Fountain throw an estimated $3,500 into the fountain a day. Legend has it that if you throw a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain you are destined to return to Rome one day.
Construction
The Trevi Fountain was constructed at the end of an aqueduct, the Aqua Virgo, as was customary in Italy. Pope Clement VII commissioned Nicola Salvi to build a fountain in the Trevi Square. It took 30 years; Salvi died before the fountain was completed in 1762,
Design
Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Charlie Phillips
The most prominent figure in the fountain is a depiction of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. He is inside a chariot being pulled by two seahorses. Other statues depicted in the fountain are figures of Abundance and Salubrity. Above the sculptures sits a likeliness of Agrippa, the virgin girl after whom the aqueduct was named.
Popular Culture
The Fountain of Trevi is featured in several movies: :"Three Coins in the Fountain", "La Dolce Vita", and "The Lizzie McGuire Movie".
