The Fascinating History of the Trevi Fountain

Ancient Roman origins: the Aqua Virgo

The story begins in 19 BC, when Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa — son-in-law of the emperor Augustus and the man behind the original Pantheon — needed to supply water to his new public baths in the Campus Martius. He commissioned an aqueduct from springs roughly 14 km east of the city that carried water into the Campus Martius to supply those baths. The present Trevi site marks the later monumental mostra — the public display fountain — of the restored Acqua Vergine system, rather than Agrippa's original terminus.

According to the traditional legend, a young woman showed Roman soldiers the spring that supplied the aqueduct — a story recorded by later Roman writers rather than established history. The aqueduct became the Aqua Virgo — "Virgin Water" — and the name still lives in modern Italian as the Acqua Vergine.

The Aqua Virgo was unusual for a Roman aqueduct: it ran almost entirely underground rather than on the dramatic arches you see at the Park of the Aqueducts. That's why so little of it survives above ground — and why most visitors have no idea the water arriving at the Trevi today still comes from the same 2,000-year-old source.

Medieval and Renaissance era

Like most of Rome's infrastructure, the Aqua Virgo was damaged during the Gothic Wars in the 6th century. Unlike most other aqueducts, however, it was eventually repaired and kept flowing — making it the only ancient Roman aqueduct to operate continuously through the Middle Ages.

In 1453, Pope Nicholas V — the same pope who began rebuilding the Vatican — commissioned a simple three-basin fountain at the terminus. It was modest, functional, and barely resembled what stands today. For Romans, it was just the place where you drew drinking water.

The story you'll hear from guides — that the fountain "celebrates" the aqueduct's discovery — comes from this period. The bas-reliefs on the upper façade of the modern fountain still depict the legend of the virgin pointing out the spring, and Agrippa approving the construction.

Bernini's lost design

In 1629, Pope Urban VIII, Bernini's most important papal patron, commissioned the architect to completely reconsider the fountain. Bernini proposed a dramatic re-orientation: the fountain would face the Quirinal Hill so the pope could enjoy it from his palace windows. He even demolished some adjacent buildings to clear space.

The project collapsed when Urban VIII died in 1644. His successor, Pope Innocent X, was famously hostile to anything Urban VIII had favored — and to Bernini personally. Funding evaporated. Bernini's sketches were shelved for almost a century.

But Bernini's influence didn't disappear. When Salvi finally designed the current fountain a century later, the choice to integrate the fountain into the rear wall of Palazzo Poli, to use a theatrical concave architectural backdrop, and to make water the dramatic centerpiece are often discussed by art historians in relation to Bernini's abandoned project, even though the fountain as built is Salvi's distinct composition.

The 1730–1732 competition

In 1730, Pope Clement XII opened a public competition to finally redesign the fountain. The early favourite was the Florentine architect Alessandro Galilei. According to the frequently repeated account, the choice caused an uproar in Rome because Galilei was not Roman — contemporary documentation of the dispute is thin, so treat the detail as tradition rather than settled fact.

The commission went instead to the Roman architect Nicola Salvi, formally in 1732. The official line was that Galilei had been awarded the façade of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano instead — a face-saving move that didn't fool anyone.

Salvi was 33 years old and relatively unknown. He had never built anything on this scale. He would spend the rest of his life on the Trevi Fountain.

Nicola Salvi takes over

Salvi's genius was to recognize that the fountain didn't need to be a freestanding monument — it could become the entire rear wall of Palazzo Poli, turning a private palace into the world's most theatrical urban set piece. The decision dictated the fountain's defining feature: it isn't a fountain in a square, it is the square.

Construction began in 1732. Salvi had to negotiate with the Poli family, demolish parts of their façade, secure water flow, and oversee a sculptural program involving four major figures and dozens of carved details. The marble was Carrara. The travertine — the rough rock at the base — was quarried at Tivoli, 30 km outside Rome.

Salvi famously suffered for the project. He worked in damp conditions for years, contracted serious lung problems, and is said to have refused to leave the construction site even when ill. He died in 1751, eleven years before the fountain was completed.

Completion in 1762

After Salvi's death, the project was finished by Giuseppe Pannini, working from Salvi's plans. The central statue of Oceanus and the two Tritons were sculpted by Pietro Bracci. The allegorical figures of Abundance and Salubrity in the side niches were carved by Filippo della Valle. The bas-reliefs above were the work of Andrea Bergondi and Giovanni Battista Grossi.

The fountain was inaugurated on 22 May 1762 by Pope Clement XIII — the fourth pope to oversee the project. From start to finish, the work had taken 30 years, drained four papal treasuries, and involved a dozen of the best sculptors in Rome. For the full breakdown of who did what, see our piece on who built the Trevi Fountain.

For decades afterward, Romans called the entire structure "Salvi's Fountain." The name only shifted back to "Trevi" in the 19th century as tourists from across Europe began arriving on the Grand Tour and adopted the older neighborhood name.

Restorations and the modern era

The Trevi has been restored at least seven times. The most significant interventions came in 1873 (replacing damaged Tritons), 1988 (cleaning and structural repairs), 1998 (after a piece of cornice fell), and the most recent — the high-profile 2014–2015 restoration sponsored by the Italian fashion house Fendi at a cost of €2.2 million.

The Fendi restoration was so meticulous that visitors during the works could walk across a transparent footbridge installed directly over the empty basin. It also introduced the LED illumination system that lights the fountain at night — a notable upgrade from the older yellow incandescent bulbs that for decades made the fountain look orange in photos.

In 2024, a second round of cleaning and waterproofing was carried out, during which a temporary basin was installed so visitors could still toss coins. This was when the city of Rome began discussing crowd-control measures more seriously — leading directly to the 2026 introduction of an optional €2 ticket for close-up access to the lower terrace.

The Trevi Fountain today

Recent estimates place annual visitation above 10 million, though counting is inexact because the fountain sits in an open public square. Coin collections have often exceeded €1 million a year — collected weekly by the city and donated to the Catholic charity Caritas, which uses the money for soup kitchens and shelter programs across Rome.

For practical visiting tips — the new €2 fee, the best photo times, the coin-throwing rules — read our complete Trevi Fountain visitor guide. For the deeper meaning of the sculptures, see the meaning of the Trevi Fountain statues explained.

Two thousand years after Agrippa's aqueduct first brought spring water into this part of Rome, the fountain remains part of the historical Acqua Vergine system — although modern pumps now recirculate roughly 126 litres per second through the monument, and control chambers regulate what visitors see. Few places in Rome have such an unbroken thread between the ancient and the modern. That continuity, more than the Baroque drama, is what makes the Trevi Fountain a genuine wonder.

Sources and further reading

• Turismo Roma — official Trevi Fountain page (description, reliefs, restoration history, 2026 access rules)
• Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali (conservation and restoration records)
• ACEA (Acqua Vergine supply and Rome's waterworks)
• Associated Press — Trevi Fountain reopening, pumps and recirculation rate (approx. 126 litres per second)
• Reuters — Trevi Fountain reopening and crowd-control plans (visitor numbers, controlled access)
• Roma Capitale (current access rules and official notices)

Continue reading about the Trevi Fountain

Plan the visit itself

• Complete Trevi Fountain visitor guide
• Trevi Fountain map & what's nearby
• Pantheon to Trevi walking route
• Spanish Steps to Trevi walk
• Half a day around the Trevi Fountain
• One day in Rome itinerary

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is the Trevi Fountain?

The current Baroque fountain was completed in 1762, making it about 264 years old in 2026. But it stands on the terminus of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct, originally built in 19 BC, so water has flowed at this exact spot for over 2,000 years.

Who originally commissioned the Trevi Fountain?

Pope Clement XII held a public competition in 1730 to redesign the fountain. The full project spanned four popes — Clement XII, Benedict XIV, Clement XIII — finishing under Clement XIII in 1762.

Why is it called the Trevi Fountain?

The name comes from 'tre vie' — three streets — that converged at the small piazza where the fountain stands. The neighborhood (rione Trevi) and the fountain both take their name from this triple-road junction.

Was the Trevi Fountain ever destroyed?

No. The monument has been repaired and restored repeatedly — most recently in the €2.2 million Fendi-sponsored restoration completed in 2015 and the maintenance work carried out before the 2025 Jubilee — but it has never been demolished or rebuilt from scratch.

What was on the site before the current fountain?

An earlier, much simpler basin commissioned by Pope Nicholas V in 1453 stood there. Before that, the spot served as the public outlet of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct since antiquity, with rough stone troughs and water spouts.