The Trevi Fountain is Rome's most famous fountain, a unique spectacle of water and stone.
The fountain's origins date back to 19 BC, when Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa brought the Aqua Virgo aqueduct (also known as the "water show") to Rome. The fountain, also known as the "water show," was its terminal point. Its name derives from "trivium," meaning "crossroads." The first records of the fountain date back to 1410. At that time, the fountain consisted of three separate basins, each containing water from three different spouts.

In 1453, Pope Nicholas V commissioned Leon Battista Alberti to restore the fountain, which resulted in the creation of a single rectangular basin and the decoration of the three spouts with gargoyles. During the papacy of Urban VIII (of the Barberini family), in 1640, architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini was commissioned to design a project that expanded the square and repositioned the fountain, achieving its current orientation. Bernini's intervention was limited to the creation of two semicircular basins and an exedra-shaped base, as work was interrupted following the death of Pope Urban VIII.

The Trevi Fountain's current appearance dates back to 1732, when Pope Clement XII (of the Corsini family) announced a competition in which the greatest artists of the time participated. The Pope chose architect Nicola Salvi's design for a monumental fountain, an extraordinary example of the fusion of art and architecture, completely integrated into the façade of Palazzo Poli. The scene is dominated by a rocky cliff, at the center of which is a niche surrounded by columns containing a statue of the god Oceanus; On its sides, two other niches house statues representing Abundance and Health.

The best-known popular legend is linked to the tossing of a coin into the fountain: by tossing the coin with your eyes closed and turning your back toward Palazzo Poli, you are said to ensure a safe return to Rome.