Roma

Cast of Characters

Campo dé Fiori

Caffè San Pietro

Colosseo

Foro Romano

Chiesa del Gesu

Pantheon

P. Navona

S. Pietro

Il Papa

S. Eustachio

S. Maria Trastevere

Trastevere

Bocca Verità

Fontana di Trevi

Museo Vaticani

Villa Borghese

Vittorie

Mangia!

Loose Ends

Desktops

Made famous to Americans by the movie Three Coins In The Fountain (1954), it is said of the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) that facing away from the fountain and tossing a coin over your left shoulder will guarantee a return to the Eternal City. The coins are collected and given to charity.

Niccolò Salvi, winner of a 1732 design competition, took thirty years to build this late Baroque fountain which spans a short city block and features a central figure of Neptune (Poseidon) is flanked by two tritons, each symbolizing the contrasting moods of the sea.

Its water, from Acqua Vergine, was considered Rome's softest and best-tasting; for centuries, barrels of it were taken every week to the Vatican. The water was declared non-potable in 1961, and is now recycled by electric pumps.

The fountain site was originally the terminal of the Aqueduct built in 19 B.C.

All around the city we see vendors of roasted chestnuts, but the most picturesque setup was here.