Welcome to Our Tour Of Italy April 2007
Next on our tour was the beautiful Trevis Fountain of Rome. The Trevis Fountain is a fantastic work of art that is much more than a mere sculpture. The fountain is a true wonder, a jewel of water and stone that is nestled between the palaces of the historic centre of the city.
You can already hear its presence from the nearby streets. Indeed, as you get nearer the sound of its gushing waters grows constantly more intense, reaching a crescendo in the square, where you will find the most breathtaking sight.
Even the palace in the background blends perfectly with the composition and the game of space and mass gives an air of movement to the entire statue. The central feature of the monument is a chariot in the shape of a shell, drawn by seahorses with Triton as their guide. Before the enormous central niche stands Neptune. To the side are the statues of Abundance and Salubrity. All around, natural and artificial forms merge together in a representation of rocks and petrified vegetation that run along the foundation of the palace and around the borders of the pool, which represents the sea.
This unique statue goes back to Roman times and it was the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct commissioned by Augustus, which was used to provide water for the thermal baths.
The aqueduct continued to function, even though it was necessary to wait until the eighteenth century when Pope Clement XII decided to restore the Trevi district and began work on the fountain we know today. It took three centuries to complete and is often attributed to Bernini, but for the most part it is the work of the Roman architect, Nicola Salvi, who took twenty years to complete it.
This work of art is so famous that even that there was a 1954 movie made around it called "Three Coins in the fountain". There is also another curious tradition regarding the Trevi Fountain. It is said that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the water, you will be sure to return to Rome.
Nearby there was a wonderful shop which sell some of the most delicious ice creams with at least 30 flavours.
