Trevi Fountain
特雷维喷泉 · Rome, Italy
Toss a coin over your left shoulder with your back to the fountain, and you will return to Rome — a Baroque palace of the sea god that collects €3,000 a day of the world's longing
Know before you go
- Never step into the basin, sit on the rim with your feet dangling, or throw food or scraps into the water — you will be fined and filmed by onlookers for the internet
- don't picnic or linger on the fountain steps, as municipal rules ban eating and staying on historic monuments
- don't climb the sculptures or railings for selfies
This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.
Stories & people
Stories & people
Legend
Stories of Trevi Fountain
First, to be clear: the coin story below is legend and custom, not history. Legend has it that with your back to the fountain, tossing a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder into the water — one coin guarantees your return to Rome, two coins bring a new romance, three coins lead to marriage — with quite a few variants besides. This ritual became world-famous through the 1954 Hollywood film Three Coins in the Fountain and the classic scene in La Dolce Vita (1960) of Anita Ekberg wading into the fountain at night. But don't take the film as a model: real people who get into the water are fined. According to figures published by the City of Rome and Caritas, the coins are recovered at roughly €3,000 a day, over a million euros in peak years; since 2001, under municipal regulation, all of it is donated to the Catholic charity Caritas to support Rome's poor families — the "wishes" visitors toss in end up as bread for the poor. The sea god at the fountain's centre is not Neptune but Oceanus of Greek myth; the figures on either side are the goddesses of Abundance and Health, and the whole sculptural group tells an allegory of "water tamed by Rome".
Source: Turismo Roma (official Rome tourism portal); Wikipedia: Trevi Fountain
History
History of Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain is the terminus of ancient Rome's Aqua Virgo, the "Virgin Aqueduct": in 19 BC Agrippa built this roughly 20 km aqueduct to supply Rome with water, its name legendarily from a young girl who showed soldiers the way to the source (the relief on the fountain's right side depicts exactly this scene). Today's fountain began with a competition launched by Pope Clement XII in the 1730s, won by the architect Nicola Salvi; construction started in 1732, and after Salvi's death his pupil Giuseppe Pannini took over, completing it in 1762 during the reign of Pius IV. Set against the façade of Palazzo Poli, 26.3 m high and 49.15 m wide, it is Rome's largest and last-completed Baroque fountain. In 2014–2015 the luxury house Fendi funded a complete cleaning and restoration, with the night-lighting system renewed at the same time; the name "Trevi" is said by one account to come from the three roads (tre vie) that meet here.
Source: Turismo Roma (official Rome tourism portal); Wikipedia: Trevi Fountain
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
Rome is a "city of fountains", and the Trevi is their culmination: it fuses ancient Roman hydraulic engineering, the papal city's glory and the theatricality of Baroque sculpture into a single open-air theatre. After Fellini's film it also became the global symbol of "Roman Holiday-style romance", drawing millions of visitors a year to toss a coin and make a wish.
Local customs
The coin ritual itself is today's greatest folk custom: coin in the right hand, back to the fountain, tossed over the left shoulder — and the charitable recovery of the coins has become an institutionalised tradition, with municipal workers draining and scooping the basin several times a week in the early morning. Proposals, wedding photos and graduation photos shot here are likewise fashionable, though you must keep clear of the water-access control zone and areas where police direct people on.
Religion & beliefs
- No specific religious affiliation
- it is municipal public art and a historic waterwork. The name of its source, the "Virgin Aqueduct", involves a legend with Marian imagery, and the coin donations are administered by the Catholic charity Caritas, but visiting itself involves no religious ritual requirements.
Etiquette & taboos
Etiquette & taboos
Rules that apply here
Rome's Spanish Steps: no sitting, eating or drinking
Do
- Walk up the steps and keep moving after your photo
Don’t
- Sitting, resting, eating or drinking on the steps
Banned by Rome's urban police regulations since 2019; media report fines of €250, rising to €400 for dirtying or damaging the steps.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: ANSA: Rome bans sitting on the Spanish Steps (2019)
Don’t DON'T
- Never step into the basin, sit on the rim with your feet dangling, or throw food or scraps into the water — you will be fined and filmed by onlookers for the internet
- don't picnic or linger on the fountain steps, as municipal rules ban eating and staying on historic monuments
- don't climb the sculptures or railings for selfies
Locals appreciate DO
- Follow the custom — back to the fountain, right hand over the left shoulder to toss the coin — then admire the full view from the steps on either side of the piazza without blocking the water-access passage
- come early in the morning or after 22:00, when you avoid the crowds and the lit fountain shows even more Baroque drama
- keep valuables close to your body, and politely decline people pressing roses on you or offering to take photos for a fee
Plan your visit
Practical info
Travel tips
- Never enter the basin, sit on the rim or wash your feet in the water: municipal police will whistle you out and fine you (on the order of several hundred euros)
- don't eat, drink or linger sitting on the fountain steps either
- The piazza is crowded all day and pickpockets are active — wear your backpack in front and keep your phone on your person
- for an empty full-view photo, arrive before 7 a.m.
- In recent Jubilee years Rome has run a queue-and-batch system for the fountain's front water-access zone (admitting small groups for close viewing and coin-tossing)
- just follow the staff's directions and queue on site — details per the City of Rome's on-site announcements
- The fountain is an open-air piazza sight, open all day and free, lit at night
- the water-access zone requires queueing during controlled periods — follow on-site announcements. Location: the Trevi district in central Rome, about an 8-minute walk from Barberini station on Metro Line A
- the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and the Quirinal Palace are all within a 10–15-minute walking circle. Suggested duration: 20–30 minutes is plenty for coin-tossing and photos
- the best times are around sunrise and after 22:00. There are public drinking fountains (nasoni) in the surrounding lanes where you can fill up on Rome's drinkable tap water.
Eat nearby
What to eat nearby
Must-try
- gelato
gelato (the century-old San Crispino beside the fountain is praised for its honey and hazelnut flavours), Roman thin-crust pizza (pizza al taglio, cut and sold by weight), the classic Roman pastas (cacio e pepe, black pepper and cheese / carbonara, bacon and egg), tiramisu (Pompi nearby is a popular Roman chain)
| Where to eat | the ring of restaurants on the fountain's front piazza is noticeably overpriced; duck into the side lanes (around Via della Stamperia and Via del Lavatore) for trattorias and gelato shops full of local diners |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | in Italian restaurants, sitting down for a coffee costs over twice as much as standing at the bar — that is industry custom; a cover charge (coperto) on the bill is normal; at a gelateria, pay first, take your ticket, then choose your flavours at the counter |
| Typical price per person | €15–25 per person at a genuine small Italian restaurant, about RMB 115–195; front-row fountain-view seats start at €30 per person (typical rates, estimated at €1 ≈ RMB 7.8) |
| Tips | if you eat gelato before seeing the fountain, note that municipal rules ban eating and drinking on the fountain steps and in the water-access zone — finish your gelato standing outside the piazza before entering the controlled area |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Photos
Photos
Wjh31 · CC BY 3.0
Livioandronico2013 · CC BY-SA 4.0
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