Trevi Fountain, the altar of love for Rome and the hope of a return 

A famous Roman song from 1965 sung by Achille Togliani best describes the romantic magic of the Trevi Fountain: “Trevi Fountain, my dream is all gold; I feel hope in me, I believe only in love. My heart puts my hope in you, believes in you.” It is the song of a young man in love who, after a walk in the center of Rome, stops in front of the fountain and, throwing a coin into its pure, crystalline waters, entrusts to this magnificent monument his hopes of love for his beloved and of fortune for his future life. A few years earlier, in 1960, the great singer Claudio Villa had also dedicated another song to the famous fountain. The lyrics of that song recall the tradition according to which every tourist who visits Rome stands with their back to the fountain and throw a coin into the large basin, expressing the desire to return soon to visit the eternal city. Claudio Villa sang “O stranger, you will come back. If you drink that water, you will see Rome again. And the sky is blue. Remember, my love, He looked at himself in you, Silver fountain, He offered you a penny And then he swore to you: I will return with him”. Of course, it is not advisable to drink the water from the basin today, but the water that gushes from the facade is drinkable! Please remember, however, that it is strictly forbidden to enter the tub or climb on the facade. Every year millions of tourists throw a coin into the fountain, making a wish. Consider that ACEA, the company that manages the water resources of the Capital of Italy, must empty the basin once a week to collect the coins. These are then delivered directly to Caritas which uses them to carry out its charitable activities to support people in need.

The Origin of the Trevi Fountain and Its Secrets 

Traditions often arise from popular sentiment, from gestures made by the simplest people to try to attract a bit of luck, or the love of a desired man or woman. Since ancient times, people have turned to divinities or oracles, leveraging their faith and entrusting their destiny to someone or something that was covered with an aura of mystery and occult charm. Even the Trevi Fountain, like the ancient Oracle of Delphi, hides secrets behind it. Behind the neoclassical façade influenced by Bernini’s Baroque, behind its ethereal, opulent and scenographic layout made of jets and statues, it conceals something more practical and concrete. Just as the Oracle of Delphi hid a priestess who predicted the future to travellers, the Trevi Fountain hides its true function, that of the terminal point of a long aqueduct of Roman origin: the Acquedotto dell’Acqua Vergine (Aqueduct of the Virgin Water). This Aqueduct was built at the time of Emperor Augustus by the architect Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to supply water to the Campus Martius, the Roman neighborhood where the historic center of Rome stands today. Imagine that it flows almost entirely underground for more than 20 kilometers. Right behind the fountain is the long corridor where the water main arrives. The pumps that run the fountain today were installed in 1979 and work 24 hours a day, pumping 220 liters of water per second. They work alternately for 8-hour cycles; when one pump turns off, the other starts. Even today it is possible to partially visit the tunnels of the aqueduct, provided you obtain special permits and under the supervision of expert guides.

The Trevi Fountain in the Cinema 

Such an imposing masterpiece was destined to become a symbol of Rome. Aside from its magical and romantic charm that inspired singers and musicians and which we have already spoken about, its scenographic value could not remain excluded from the Italian and international cinematic imagination. Surely the most famous scene is the one from the film La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini, in which Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Akberg bathe in the fountain in a scene with a strong sensual impact. But other Italian films have also shown and narrated the Trevi Fountain, from Tototruffa ’62, to We All Loved Each Other So Much by Ettore Scola and Risate di Gioia by Mario Monicelli. And then we must remember some famous American films that wanted to dedicate some scenes to the Trevi Fountain: the most famous is Roman Holiday (1953) by William Wyler with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. But Woody Allen also wanted to immortalize the fountain in To Rome with Love (2013). Here’s another fun fact: did you know that the Trevi Fountain also appears in the film Lost in Translation (2003) by Sofia Coppola? It is not a scene shot in Rome, but a scene in which the protagonists watch on TV the very scene of the Trevi Fountain present in Federico Fellini’s Dolce Vita.

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