The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762 and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world.
The fountain, at the junction of three roads (tre vie), marks the terminal point of the "modern" Acqua Vergine—the revived Aqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some from the city. (This scene is presented on the present fountain's façade.) However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some . This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than 400 years.
The name of the fountain derives from the Latin word trivium (intersection of three streets). The statue is located right in the center of
Via De'Crocicchi, Via Poli and Via Delle Muratte.
During the sixth century, the aqueducts were not well maintained and the 14 functioning ones were damaged following the invasion of the Ostrogoths.
The virgin water aqueduct carries the water to the Trevi Fountain, after having collected it 10 km from the Italian capital.
The aqueduct is still in use today, despite some interventions during which the fountain remained empty. Calcium-free water is thought to be one of the causes.
In 1629, Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but the project was abandoned when the Pope died. Though Bernini's project was never constructed, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it exists today. An early influential model by Pietro da Cortona, preserved in the Albertina, Vienna, also exists, as do various early 18th century sketches, most unsigned, as well as a project attributed to Nicola Michetti one attributed to Ferdinando Fuga and a French design by Edmé Bouchardon.