Before I ever knew anything
about Rome, I knew the Trevi Fountain.
When I was very young, I used to watch old movies with my Grandmother,
John. (That’s another story for another
time.) I’ve known “Three Coins in a
Fountain” for over fifty years.
Pretty much everyone who
comes to Rome has three sights in mind – Vatican City, the Colosseum, and the
Trevi Fountain. Because the fountain was
the closest to our hotel and matched our energy level best, that was our
goal. We studied our map and headed in
the right direction this time. I had a
problem keeping my mind on the goal because I was overcome with the beauty of
the buildings and the amazing quality of the people-watching. But Steve is a little more single-minded and
he pulled me along.
I heard the fountain before I
saw it. Its size caught me by surprise. I had read about it; but the sheer beauty of
the sculpture and the architecture “took my breath away.” Yes, there were crowds of people, taking
pictures, tossing coins (right hand over left shoulder, please) and eating
gelato. Since our cruise will bring us
back here at the end, I didn’t feel the need to toss a coin. However, I will toss on my second trip
because I most assuredly do want to return.
A gelato shop called to us
and, after we had pistachio in hand, we found a spot overlooking the fountain
and the people and proceeded to “be”. For
the first time of many on this trip, I stared at a piece of history that I
simply could not comprehend.
The fountain is at the
juncture of three ancient roads (“tre vie”) and marks the terminal point of the
Aqua Virgo, built in 19BC. The Roman
aqueducts were destroyed by the Goths four hundred years later. The Roman custom of building a handsome
fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived
in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. The Trevi fountain was completed in
1762. But the water that still rushes
from the fountain has traveled along those ancient Roman aqueducts for
approximately fourteen miles!
By the time our room was
ready in our hotel, we started the walk back.
So many things to see, hear and smell.
The most ridiculous are the newest toys the teens of Rome are trying to
sell the tourists. They are multicolored
eggs that, when thrown against the ground, break open and spread like a raw
egg. I didn’t stick around to see how
they gather them back up, but somehow they do.
Have you ever timed traffic lights just so? And they change as you drive through
them? Eggs of every color hit the ground
with a splat as we walked by. So much
fun. I may have to buy one when we go
back!
Exhausted and needing to take
a bath and a nap and not in the mood to sit in a restaurant, we decided to stop
by a little grocery store and get whatever we could find. We found (for only 2 euro) the most gorgeous
sandwiches. Within an hour, full and
comfortable, I went to bed and I don’t even remember taking a breath before I
was out!
A couple of hours later,
Steve woke me so we would sleep later when it was really night-time. It was getting dark and we set out again to
simply wander, again in the direction of Trevi.
We were still tired enough that we knew we wouldn’t be going far.
How those alleys changed from
the afternoon to the evening! Playtime
for adults! And I don’t mean in any kind
of a bad way. Just that people were out
and enjoying the night. The teens were
now selling some sort of lights that shot high into the air and Trevi and the
surrounding area was covered with light and sound.
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