From Via del Tritone we enter Via della Stamperia, which leads to the Trevi Fountain, certainly the most famous and spectacular fountain in Rome, made even more famous by the night-time wading of Anita Ekberg in Federico Fellini’s film “La dolce vita’. The fountain is the terminai part of the Vergine aqueduct built by Agrippa, a general of Augustus, in 19 B.C. to bring the water coming from the Salone springs, 19 km away, to Rome.

Legend, illustrated in the fountain’s upper panels, has it that it was a young girl who showed Agrippa’s thirsty soldiers where a copious spring gushed forth. Hence the name of the aqueduct which, running underground for a long stretch, is the only one in Rome that has remained in use almost uninterruptedly from the time of its construction to the present day. This is the aqueduct that supplies the water to the monumental fountains of the historic centre, from Piazza Navona to Piazza di Spagna.

The name “Trevi“, on the other hand, allegedly derives from the word Trivium, a meeting point of three streets that form this little widened area.

lt is truly surprising to see such a large fountain in such a small square, but the artist Nicola Salvi, who created it between 1732 and 1762, carefully studied the way to increase the sensation of marvel. Indeed, he set it almost entirely against the face of Palazzo Poli, preceding it with a little balconied scene, almost as if it were a theatre! The artist was, however, disturbed during his work by the continuous criticism expressed by a barber who had his shop in the square. To shut him up, during one night Salvi created the large basin, familiariy calied the “Ace of Cups”, situated on the right-hand balustrade, which completely blocked the view of the fountain from the shop. Everyone knows that, if they want to return to Rome, they have to throw a coin into the basin, but be careful: for the dream to come true, you have to toss it over your shoulder with your back to the fountain!

Chiesa dei Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio.

Across from the Trevi fountain it is possible to admire the lively facade of the Chiesa dei Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio. The building, which was a Papal Parish for centuries, preserves the hearts and lungs of 22 popes who died in the Quirinal Palace standing nearby: from Sixtus V, who died in 1590, to Leo XIII, who died in 1903. Pope Pius X abolished this custom which had prompted Belli, the famous Roman dialect poet, to call the church “museo de’ corate e de’ ciorcelii” (pluck museum), from the popular term used to refer to the viscera of butchered animals.

Construction of the Colosseo (Colosseum) was started by Vespasian in 72 AD in the grounds of Nero’s private Domus Aurea. Originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, after the family name of Vespasian, it was inaugurated by his son Titus in 80 AD. The massive structure could seat more than 50,000 (the 4th century figure of 87,000 is disputed), and the bloody gladiator combat and wild beast shows held there. The splendid games held at the inauguration of the Colosseum lasted for 100 days and nights, during which some 5,000 animals were slaughtered. Trajan once held games which lasted for 117 days, during which some 9,000 gladiators fought to the death.

With the fall of the Empire, the Colosseo was abandoned and gradually became overgrown. Exotic plants grew there for centuries; seeds bad in advertently been transported from Africa and Asia with the wild beasts that appeared in the arena (including crocodiles, bears, lions, tigers, elephants, rhinos, hippos, camels and giraffes).

In the Middle Ages the Colosseum became a fortress, occupied by two of the city’s warrior families: the Frangipani and the Annibaldi. Its reputation as a symbol of Rome, the “Etemal City”, also dates to the Middle Ages, with Bede writing that “while the Colosseo stands, Rome shall stand, but when the Colosseo falls, Rome shall fall and when Rome falls, the world will end”.

Damaged several times by earthquake, it was later used as a quarry for travertine and marble for the Palazzo Venezia and other buildings. Pollution and the vibrations caused by traffic and the Metro have also taken their toll. Restoration works have periodically been carried out, the latest starting in 1992. Current estimates have a restored Colosseo being unveiled by 2004.

Opening hours in winter are daily from 9 am to 4 pm and until 6 pm in summer.

Gladiators

Gladiatorial combat originated as part of Etruscan funerary rites as a form of human sacrifice. By the 1st Century BC, gladiatorial games had far outstripped this ritual context; Caesar exhibited 320 pairs of gladiators in 65 BC, Augustus and Trajan each showed 5000 pairs of gladiators on different occasions. Gladiators were prisoners of war, slaves sold to gladiatorial schools, or volunteers. They were differently equipped, some with heavy swords and shields and others almost naked, armed with a net and a trident. Pairings were made to match a heavily armed gladiator against a lightly armed one. Bouts were not necessarily to the death. A defeated gladiator could appeal to the crowd and the presiding magistrate who could signal that he had fought well and deserved to be spared. Thumbs down, however, meant death, which the defeated man was expected to face with quiet courage. Although gambling was technically illegal in Rome, vast sums were wagered on gladiatorial combats. Successful gladiators were popular heroes and lived to enjoy a comfortabie retirement, with some running their own training schools.

Pincio and Spanish

Steps Rome To the right as you face the steps is the house where John Keats died in 1821, now the Keats-Shelley Memorial House, a small museum crammed with memorabilia of Keats,
Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron and other Romantics. It is open from 9 am to 1 pm and 2.30 to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday.

Piazza di Spagna

In the piazza is the boat-shaped fountain called the Barcaccia, believed to be by Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Gian Lorenzo. The Viale della Trinità  dei Monti at the top of the steps leads to the Pincio. Half way along the road on the right is the Villa Medici, perhaps Rome’s best piece of real estate with undoubtedly one of the city’s best views. The palazzo was built for Cardinal Ricci da Montepulciano in 1540. Ferdinando dei Medici bought it in 1576 and it remained his family’s property until Napoleon acquired it in 1801, when the French Academy was transferred here. The academy was founded in 1666 to provide talented French artists, writers and musicians – Prix de Rome winners – an opportunity to study and absorb the enormous classical heritage that Rome offered. A good way to get inside the building is by seeing one of the regular art exhibitions that are held there. Guided tours of the villa’s spectacular gardens take place at 10.30 and 11.30 am on Saturday and Sunday from March to late May and from September to late October.

Piazza Navona is a popular gathering place for Romans and tourists alike. Take time to relax on one of the stone benches and watch the artists who gather in the piazza to do their work, have your “tarocchi” (tarot cards) read, or pay top prices to enjoy a drink at one of the outdoor cafes, such as Tre Scalini. The piazza is best avoided from early December until 6 January when a gaudy market and mini funfair take over.

There are three fountains, the central one being Bernini’s masterpiece, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) depicting the Nile, Ganges, Danube and the Rio Plata. The fountain took four years to build and was completed in 1651; funds to build the fountain were raised by an unpopular tax on bread. Bernini designed the figures, but the actual carving was done by assistants. The obelisk once stood in the Circo di Massenzio on the Via Appia Antica.

The Fontana del Moro at the southern end of piazza was designed by Giacomo della Porta in 1576. Bernini altered the fountain in the mid-17th century when he designed the central figure of the Moor bolding a dolphin.The surrounding tritons are 19th century copies. The fountain at the northern end of the piazza dates from the 19th century and has a central figure of Neptune fighting with a sea monster, surrounded by sea nymphs.

In the centre of the piazza Navona facing the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is the Chiesa di Sant’Agnese in Agone, its façade designed by Bernini’s bitter rival, Borromini. The tradition is that the statues of Bernini’s Fontana dei Fiumi are shielding their eyes in disgust from the sight of Borromini’s church, but the truth is that Bernini completed the fountain two years before his contemporary started work on the facade and in fact the figure is shielding its face to indicate that the source of the river at that time had been undiscovered.