Trevi Fountain, Roma

May 24th, 2009

The night was still young (or was it the jet-freshness?) and warm, and we decided to turn the corner to take in “Fontana de Trevi”.

Like advertized, you truely hear it before you see it. Should you not, with hundreds of gallons of gushing fresh water carried by Agna Virgo – the aqueduct built a thousand years ago?

Nicola Salvi, in 1792, definitely went overboard with the marble. The fountain is the size of a medium sized parking lot in New York, complete with three storey facade, lit beautifully. The fountain was swarming with tourists, not surprising, given the number of column-inches every tourist book on Rome gives it. It is fulfills the promise of nice 30 minute gelato accompanied sit-down.

After we tossed in our coin (that mythically promises you a return to Roma) and having gathered our stuff to leave, 4 teenagers precariously perched over the 300 year old marble balustrade, leaned too far back and dunked themselves into the cool water. I would not be surprised if it was well planned part of a wager. Since Anita Ekberg's rendition of swan on water here for the 1960s Dolce La Vita, I am sure it is a local fashion.

We tried to take a different route back – under fading light- missed a turn and and landed in front of Victor Emmanuel’s monument. Had I not been biased about the structure, being equivocally called hideous, resembling a wedding cake or a typewriter, I actually might have liked it.

We managed to find our way back navigating the old fashioned way – asking a few passer-bys – and made it back intact.

As the back hit the cushion, we realized the AC had conked off. Too tired to check it or get it checked, I opened the windows, and let a cool waft of Rome in. Morpheus, then, quickly took over.

Read on: Next Day, We went to the colosseum