The Trevi Fountain is a monumental Baroque fountain in Rome, Italy, famous as both a historic water source and an iconic tourist landmark where visitors toss coins into the water for good luck and a promised return to Rome.

What the Trevi Fountain is

  • It is a large, sculptural fountain built into the facade of Palazzo Poli in Rome’s Trevi district.
  • The fountain marks the end point of the Acqua Vergine (Aqua Virgo) aqueduct, a revived ancient Roman water supply.
  • Its name comes from the Latin “trivium,” meaning the intersection of three streets, which converge at the fountain.

Design and appearance

  • The Trevi Fountain is considered a late Baroque masterpiece, originally designed by architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.
  • At the center stands Oceanus (often called Neptune), flanked by allegorical figures and Tritons, set among dramatic travertine rock formations with water cascading into a wide basin.
  • The majority of the structure is made from travertine stone quarried near Tivoli, east of Rome.

Brief history

  • A fountain existed on this site at least by the early 15th century, linked to the Acqua Vergine aqueduct that was first completed in 19 BC.
  • Pope Clement XII commissioned the current monumental fountain in the 1730s; Salvi won the design competition in 1732, and construction took about 30 years.
  • After Salvi’s death in 1751, Pannini oversaw modifications and finished the project, which was inaugurated on 22 May 1762.

Traditions and fun facts

  • A popular tradition says that tossing a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain ensures a return trip to Rome.
  • The fountain is one of Rome’s most visited monuments and generates large amounts of coins, which local authorities periodically collect for charity.
  • Because of its fame, especially from films like “La Dolce Vita,” it often appears in travel blogs and guides as one of the “must-see” spots in Rome.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.