Take a Dip in Rome's Magnificent Trevi Fountain
Excerpt from the book On a Tall Budget and Short Attention Span from the Teresa the Traveler Series.
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The next closest site of interest, as suggested by my tourist map, was Trevi Fountain. When I heard the sounds of water and people, I knew I had found it. Built between 1730 and 1762, Trevi Fountain is thought to be the most beautiful fountain in Rome; which is quite an honor considering it was customary to build a fountain at the endpoint of every aqueduct entering the city providing Rome with a rather large collection of lovely fountains.
The site’s original fountain was built in 19 BC to honor the virgin who helped the Roman technicians locate a pure water source 8 miles from the city. Between 537 and 538 the Goth besiegers broke the aqueducts forcing the Romans to get water from polluted wells and the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer. The aqueduct was repaired in 1453 and a simple basin was built. Then in 1730, Pope Clement decided to spruce up the fountain so he held a competition to see who would redesign it An architect from Florence won but the Roman people whined so the contract was awarded to Nicola Salvi instead. Salvi died halfway through the project and the fountain was completed by Giuseppe Pannini. Tradition says that if you throw a coin in the fountain and make a wish, it will come true and you will undoubtedly return to Rome. If you throw two coins you will find romance and if you throw three you will either get married or divorced. In order to ensure the appropriate outcome one must throw the coins with their right hand over their left shoulder. Even if your wish doesn’t come true your coins will surely grant the wishes of some of Rome’s needy as the almost 3,000 Euros thrown into the fountain each day are collected at night and used to subsidize a supermarket for the less fortunate. I tossed in a coin and wished for the most cliché thing a woman could possibly wish for – to meet my Mr. Right. Yes I could have wished for world peace, financial freedom, health and happiness but I didn’t. How pathetic is that? I watched my coin sink to the bottom of the fountain and fantasized about returning one day with the love of my life. |
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Where I Stayed...
Hotel Lazzari Via Castelfidardo, 31 Rome, Italy Tel: +39 – 064464638 Fax: +39 – 064941378 |
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