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 see Trevi Fountain in person you will surely be amazed. If you are an armchair tourist, no worries; you can still be amazed by reading our collection of fun facts!
Fun Facts About Rome’s Trevi Fountain
- The water supply for Trevi Fountain comes from the Aqua Virgo aqueduct, the only aqueduct from ancient Rome that is 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 intersect, giving it its name (“Tre” = three in Italian, and “vie” means roads, Tre+vie = Trevie, truncated to Trevi)
- The present sculptural adornment of the fountain (from the early 17th Century) was financed by the lottery.
- Almost 3 million cubic feet of water flow through the fountain every day! (Don’t worry, the water is recycled.)
- Every day about 3,000 Euro in coins are tossed into the fountain — 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.
- 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).
Voilà! Some fine day when you’re in Rome, standing in front of Trevi Fountain, and everyone’s mouth is hanging open in awe you can use yours to spout out a bunch of fun facts!
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