5 facts about the Trevi Fountain

Planning a trip to Rome soon? Find out five interesting facts about this beautiful fountain.

The Trevi Fountain is easily one of the most famous fountains in the world. Hidden in Rome, the 18th-century fountain is over 26 metres tall and almost 50 metres wide with beautiful white sculptures.

Read on to find out five interesting facts about Rome’s famous fountain.

1. Trevi Fountain had two designers
Nicola Salvi was the first designer of Trevi Fountain which was later completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. Salvi won the competition for the new fountain in 1732 but died in 1751 before it was completed.

2. The coins are donated to charity
You will be glad to know the coins you toss in the fountain go towards charity! The charity is La Caritas, which is a Catholic charity.

About €3000 is thrown into the fountain, meaning over €1.5 million within a year! Stealing the money or even dangling your feet in the water is illegal.

It’s believed those who toss a coin in Trevi Fountain will return to Rome. So, will you be tossing a coin in the fountain?

3. The centre statue is Oceanus
The centre statue is often expected to be Neptune, but it is Oceanus, a Greek god. Oceanus was the god of the Oceanus River and freshwater.

Oceanus was one of the original Titans and was the oldest offspring of Uranus and Gaia.

4. The fountain is made from travertine
Travertine is a stunning white porous limestone that was used not only to make Trevi Fountain but the Colosseum too.

While the fountain was being built, men were injured and even a few had died due to the sone.

5. A lot of water is used each second
Every second, the fountain pumps out around 170 litres of water! The water isn’t wasted as it is constantly being recycled. It does mean that you can’t drink from this fountain though, which was the original purpose of it when being built.