If the Colosseum is Rome’s poster boy then Trevi Fountain is without a doubt Rome’s poster girl (seeing as Colosseo is masculine and fontana is feminine in Italian.)
The fountain, a Baroque masterpiece designed in the early 18th Century by Nicola Salvi, is arguably the most famous fountain in the world. Between 7 and 10 million tourists flock to Trevi every year to marvel at its vastness and beauty, and to throw a coin over their shoulder to ensure their return to Rome.
If you are fortunate enough to have seen Trevi Fountain in person, you have surely be amazed by the scale and elegance of its sculptural grandeur. If you are an armchair tourist, no worries; you can still be amazed by reading our collection of fun facts!
Fun Facts about Trevi Fountain
In Ancient Roman Times
- The water supply for Trevi Fountain comes from the Acqua Virgo aqueduct, the only aqueduct from ancient Rome still functioning.
- A fountain has existed on this spot since the construction of the aqueduct over 2,000 years ago.
- In ancient Roman times, Trevi was one of over 1,300 fountains in Rome. Really!
- The original Roman fountain was built at the end of the aqueduct, where three roads intersected, giving it its name. Tre means “three” in Italian, and vie means “roads”. Tre+vie = Trevie, truncated to Trevi.
In More Modern Times
- In the 18th Century, Trevi’s sculptural adornment was financed by the lottery. The construction, completed in 1762, took 30 years. (Yes, years.)
- In the 21st Century, Italian fashion house Fendi donated over 2 million Euros to refurbish the fountain. The restoration, completed in 2015, took 17 months.
- The central figure of Salvi’s sculptural composition is Oceanus, a Titan, and not the god Neptune. (If it were Neptune he’d be holding a trident and be accompanied by a dolphin.)
- Almost 3 million cubic feet of water flow through the fountain every day. (Don’t fret; the water is recycled.)
- About 3,000 Euro in coins are tossed into the fountain daily — that’s over a million Euro per year in coins! The money goes to charity to feed Rome’s needy.
- In normal tourist times, about 1,000 visitors come to admire Trevi Fountain every hour.
- It is a crime to get into the fountain or to take coins out of it, and the fines are hefty.
- Trevi is probably best remembered for the scene in La Dolce Vita where Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni get into the fountain fully dressed. When Mastroianni died in 1996, the gushing water was stilled and the fountain draped in black fabric to mourn the loss of one of Italy’s most beloved actors of all time.
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