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Three coins in the fountain
The Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) just may be the world's most famous wishing well (certainly one of the most lucrative)
The famous Trevi Fountain is a huge baroque confection of thrashing mer-horses, splashing water, and striding Tritons presided over by a muscular Neptune. It was sculpted in 1762 by Nicolà Salvi to serve as an outlet for the Acqua Vergine aqueduct, built in 19 B.C. and still running (it also supplies the fountains in Piazza Navona and Piazza di Spagna).Tourists and teens throng the cramped little piazza's curving steps from early morning until well after midnight while immigrants selling plastic-wrapped roses thread through the crowds. Legend and a host of silly American movies (especially Three Coins in the Fountain) hold that if you toss a coin into this fountain, you're guaranteed to return to Rome.
Some say you must lob the coin with the right hand backward over the left shoulder. Others insist you must use three coins. Historians point out the original tradition was to drink the fountain's water, but unless you enjoy the taste of chlorine, I'd stick to pocket change.
Piazza di Trevi
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This material was last updated January 2007. All information was accurate at the time.
Copyright © 1998-2008 by Reid Bramblett. All rights reserved.
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