Fontana di Trevi
Then we went to a place that is almost the most visited by tourists. And it was true that today there was not a lot of people here, although the tour season had only just begun.
This is of course the Trevi fountain (Fontana di Trevi on the map), the largest and most famous in Rome.
The source of water appeared here in ancient times, this place was known as Tre VIE - the intersection of three roads. Here the Virgo aqueduct, which supplied water to the baths of Agrippa, ended.
The first attempt to give the fountain an aesthetic appearance was made under urban VIII, who commissioned Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini to design the fountain in 1629. The project was never implemented due to the death of my father. The idea returned a century later, in 1730, Clement XII announced a competition for projects. The victory was awarded to Alessandro Galilei, but this caused a lot of protests because of his origin - Galileo was a Florentine, which was repugnant to the patriots of Rome. Therefore, the project of Nicola Salvi was launched, which, in fact, was a reworking of Bernini's sketches. The work began in 1732, and lasted exactly 30 years. The author of the project died in 1751, and the fountain was completed under the direction of Giuseppe Pannini. Pannini also made his own changes - he replaced the sculpture of Agrippa with the goddess Roma.
The fountain was opened by Pope Clement XIII in 1762, as indicated by
the coat of arms of Pope Clement XII (Lorenzo Corsini) crowning the
fountain. Under
the coat of arms are carved the words: "CLEMENS XII PONT MAX AQVAM
VIRGINEM COPIA ET SALVBRITATE COMMENDATAM CVLTV MAGNIFICO ORNAVIT ANNO
DOMINI MDCCXXXV PONTIF VI”. ("The
great Pontiff Clement XII, according to a miraculous tradition,
discovered a fountain of Virgin water, its Healing and abundance in
1735").
A couple of blocks from the fountain, on Merced street, is the last residence of the great Bernini (on the map). A memorial plaque with a bust by the sculptor Ettore Ferrari, reads: "Here lived and died Lorenzo Bernini, a master of art who was revered by popes, kings and common people. December 12, 1898".
