Fountain sights in Rome
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Trevi Fountain
This fountain almost fills an entire piazza, and is Rome's most famous fountain, its iconic status sealed when Anita Ekberg splashed here in La Dolce Vita. The flamboyant baroque ensemble was designed by Nicola Salvi in 1732 and depicts Neptune's chariot being led by Tritons with sea horses – one wild, one docile – representing the moods of the sea. The water comes from the aqua virgo, a 1st-century-BC underground aqueduct, and the name Trevi refers to the tre vie (three roads) that converge at the fountain. It's traditional to throw a coin into the fountain to ensure your return to the Eternal City. It's usually very busy around the fountain during the day, so it's…
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Fontana dell’Acqua Paola
Just up from the Chiesa di San Pietro in Montorio, this monumental white fountain was built in 1612 to celebrate the restoration of a 2nd-century aqueduct that supplied (and still supplies) water from Lago di Bracciano, 35km to the north of Rome. Four of the fountain’s six pink-stone columns came from the facade of the old St Peter’s Basilica, while much of the marble was pillaged from the Roman Forum. Originally the fountain had five small basins, but these were replaced by a large granite basin, added by Carlo Fontana, in 1690.
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