When in Rome

The rulers and people of Rome have long known that water and power are forever linked. Many of the famous fountains in Rome are attributed to one man, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, but almost all of them owe their existence to the Renaissance Popes.

Beginning in 312 BC and over a period of five hundred years, eleven aqueducts were built to supply Rome with fresh spring water. The Aqua Virgo (Acqua Vergine in Italian) aqueduct has functioned continuously since antiquity and feeds the most famous Roman fountains such as the Barcaccia Fountain in front of the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona.

Barcaccia Fountain, 1629-31

It was Pope Urban VIII who commissioned a fountain in 1623 as part of a plan to build a centrepiece for every major square. As the main patron of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his less celebrated father, Pietro, who largely designed this fountain, Pope Urban VIII put his stamp on Rome.

Legend has it that during the dreadful flood of Christmas 1598, the high waters carried a boat all the way to Piazza di Spagna, then a fairly deserted spot on the edge of the city. When the waters retreated, the boat was stranded in the piazza. Thirty years later this was the inspiration for Bernini to build the fountain in the shape of a boat.

The fountain’s water comes from the Aqua Virgo, whose low pressure explains the design of the boat half sunk below street level and the absence of a water spectacle.

Trevi Fountain, 1762

The Trevi Fountain is considered one of the most stunning fountains in the world and probably the most famous. Although one of 1,352 fountains in 4th century Rome, the Trevi Fountain always stood out from the rest.

Six things you may not know about the Trevi Fountain

• The fountain dates back to ancient Roman times, since the construction of the Aqua Virgo Aqueduct in 19 BC that provided water to the Roman baths and the fountains of central Rome. It’s said that the Aqua Virgo, or Virgin Waters, is named in honour of a young Roman girl who led thirsty soldiers to the source of the spring to drink. The fountain was built at the end point of the aqueduct at the junction of three roads. These three streets (tre vie) give the Trevi Fountain its name.

• In 1730 Pope Clemens XII held a contest to design a new fountain. Many important architects participated, but in the end Nicola Salvi won the rights to design the fountain, although some say he may not have been the first choice. Alessandro Galilei, an architect from the same family as the famous astronomer Galileo, originally won the commission for the project. Why was it given to Nicola Salvi? Galilei was from Florence. Salvi was a native Roman! However, Salvi never saw his fountain completed as he died eleven years before completion in 1762.

• The fountain is mostly built from travertine stone. During construction, many men were injured and a few died when working with the enormous stone.

• The Trevi Fountain uses a lot of water, around 2,824,800 cubic feet of water every day, but it is recycled.

• It is illegal to take coins from the fountain. In the past it was common for gangs of thieves to sweep the coins out of the fountain at night. Three were caught by a television show using a hidden camera in 2011. The most famous thief, Roberto Cercellatta, stole coins from the fountain for 34 years before he was caught in the summer of 2002.

• Every day around 3,000 euro are thrown into the fountain as people follow the tradition of throwing coins with your right hand over your left shoulder. The story of the three coins is one to return to Rome; two to fall in love and three to marry. Twice a week on Monday and Friday, the money is collected and given to a charity called Caritas who use the money for a supermarket program giving rechargeable cards to Rome’s needy to help them buy groceries.

Best tip to see the Trevi Fountain

Get up early because that’s the only time to see it without hordes of tourists. Every year the times seems to get earlier, but if you can be there by 7:00am then it is worth it.

Fountain of the Four Rivers, 1651

Pope Pamphilj commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sculpt the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. The Pope was responsible for cleaning up and beautifying what used to be one of Rome’s most squalid neighbourhoods. However, Bernini was not chosen initially. A competition was announced for design submissions from the leading artists of the day, with the exception of the gifted Bernini. He was out of favour at the time because of his close association with the previous papal regime, the Barberini.

Not to be deterred, he sneakily arranged for his design to be seen by the Pope. The Pope’s reaction to this was “the only way to avoid employing Bernini is not see his designs”.

The fountain depicts Gods of the four great rivers in the four continents recognised at the time: Nile in Africa, Ganges in Asia, Danube in Europe, Rio de la Plata in South America. It was unveiled to the world in 1651.

In the film, Angels and Demons, this is the fountain where Tom Hanks dragged the submerged cardinal out of the water.

Did you know?

The fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere in front of the church of Santa Maria is believed to be the oldest fountain in Rome dating back to the 8th century.

Rome has more than 2,500 drinking fountains, known as nasoni (big nose) which provide fresh water that is perfectly safe to drink. The nasoni were first introduced in the early 1870s when the new capital began providing fresh water for its citizens.

A drinking fountain with three dragon heads is one of just three of the original nasoni fountains from the 1870s that exist in Rome today. There is one near the Roman Forum and the other two are in Piazza della Rotonda where the Pantheon is and on Via della Cordonata.

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb