Trevi Fountain is the most famous fountain in the world, and not just because Anita Ekberg lifted up her gown to wade through its waters after dancing through the night streets with a white kitten in her arms.
The fountain is set entirely against Palazzo Poli. Designing and building Trevi was the work of many geniuses and the project was the master of all master works. I will not bore you with the historical facts, since you have probably read about it plenty of times already. In this tip, I am just giving you a quick once-over of one of the best symbols of Rome.
The central figure of the fountain is Neptune riding a chariot in the shape of a shell. The chariot is pulled by two sea horses and guided by two Tritons. One of the horses is calm, while the other one restive: they are the symbols of the sea's fluctuating moods. The Tritons, one young and the other old, represent the life of man.
On the left hand side of Neptune is Abundance the God of Wealth, and on the right, Salubrity the God of Health. One of the bas-reliefs above the sculptures depicts the young maiden who showed the Roman soldiers where to find water.
Because of tourist congregation at Trevi, the best time to visit is dawn. I have seen Trevi under all different temperatures, weather, times, and seasons, but I will never forget one early morning in April when I was at the fountain at 6:30, after a storm had passed through and left the city sparkling clean. All the coins were fished out; there was no tint of colour on the statues or the water. There was no chatter of human voices and no clicking noise of cameras. There was absolutely nothing except Neptune, the horses and me.
That's when it was most beautiful, the Trevi I love.
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