The most famous Baroque fountain in the world is also a source of solidarity: the coins thrown in by tourists to ensure their return to the Eternal City, as immortalized by Renato Rascel in the song "Arrivederci Roma", are donated by the Council to the Caritas diocese.
Trevi is the district where the fountain is located; its name probably derives from the Latin "trevium" meaning the juncture of three roads in the vicinity of the monument which, supplied by the Acqua Vergine waters occupies the whole facade of the Palazzo once belonging to the Dukes of Poli. In vain they tried to resist Pope Clemente XII, Corsini’s wish to finally arrange the square recreating the magnificent show of water that had been conceived nearly a century before by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with a project that was abandoned for lack of funds.
The Roman, Nicolò Salvi, who had lost the competition to design the facade of San Giovanni in Laterano, was commissioned in the first half of 1700 to recreate the Baroque shapes of ‘600 Rome; in this competition he prevailed over many famous competitors, Luigi Vanvitelli being one of them, partly detaching himself from the inspiring motif of his art, tendentially neo-Renaissance.
The monumental character of the fountain is made magnificent by the formal architectural backdrop consisting of a triumphal arch surmounted by a balustrade and military trophies, inside of which is an enormous niche where Pietro Bracci’s Neptune stands. In the niches flanking Neptune are the statues of Salubrity and Abundance, works of Filippo Della Valle, who collaborated in the construction of the Palazzo della Consulta in Quirinale, today home to the Constitutional Court.
Neptune is lying on a chariot pulled by sea-horses guided by tritons who are running on rocks in sculptured travertine. On the right of the fountain is a large vase, also made of travertine, known as “ace of cups” because it brings to mind the card of that suit and the story goes that it was positioned there by Salvi to block a barber’s view who, from his shop continued to criticize his work.
At one time the fountain water was considered drinkable. A tradition cultivated by young Romans was that of giving a glass to drink to the fiancé who was leaving Rome; the glass was then smashed with the promise of faithfulness.
For this reason the fountain water, into which Anita Ekberg immersed in the most famous scene of Federico Fellini’s "La Dolce Vita" is also called “water of love”.