Rione Trevi

Trevi fountain, an infamous fountain found in the city center of Rome. It encompasses an entire side of Palazzo Poli and it is the largest fountain in all of Rome. With all this said, the fountain is just a part of what many might not know about, the Rioni of Trevi. Rione in Rome was a way to split up the city center into different regions and giving them their own coat of arms, Trevi is the second of the now 22. Located along the southwest side of Quirinale hill, it is home to many important sites of historical Rome. The name derives from Medieval Latin “trivium” meaning the crossroads of three roads, hence the coat of arms having three swords, representing the three roads that converge near where the Trevi fountain is now. But now this area is where tourist flock to throw coins over their shoulders for a variety of reasons.

The entire Rione of Trevi has had significance in the city of Rome throughout all of the timeline of Rome. During antiquity, the hill was used by the Romans to worship such deities as excavations in gardens have found idols of worship. The Aqua Virgin, built in 19AD was one of the aqueducts that supplied ancient Rome with spring water was also here and was well maintained throughout the Middle Ages. With the fall of the Roman Empire, residents moved from the hill closer to the Tiber River. It wasn’t until during the renaissance that Trevi was urbanized with the addition of roads, churches, and fountains. Quirinale Hill was prime location for those looking for as it was away from all the busy city life that was at the bottom of the hill next to the Tiber River. This carried onto the papal period, as it was the center of a lot of political importance. By this time there were two major changes to the Rioni, Trevi fountain was built to replace an old fountain of the Aqua Virgin aqueduct and Quirinale Palace was built. This area was also being torn down and being rebuilt, changing the demography of the Rione.

The fountain of Trevi was built in the mid 1700’s as a celebration to the end of Aqua Virgin aqueduct. A common misconception was that Bernini designed the fountain but as story goes; Pope Urban VIII asked Bernini to stretch out some drawings to replace the less dramatic fountain that was originally there, but after the death of Urban VIII, the plan is thrown out. It wasn’t for another century, 1730, that the new fountain was commissioned to work on by Nicola Silva. Construction began at the peak of Baroque design, so evidently the fountain is in design of the era. Silva died in 1951 leaving the fountain undone, Giuseppe Pannini finished it in 1762 adding the two statues on both sides of Neptune. The significance of the fountain is the central figure of Neptune riding a shell shaped chariot being pulled by two seahorses guided by tritons. The horses themselves represent the fluctuating moods of sea, one being calm and obedient, and the other is restive. On the left of Neptune is Agrippa, the general who commissioned to build the Aqua Virgin aqueduct and on the opposite of Neptune stands the Roman virgin who help find the spring, which was the source of water of the previous aqueduct. In the upper panels, it also depicts the story of a young girl helping soldiers find the source of water. There are several different interpretations of the legend of Trevi fountain, but the overall objective is that if one wishes to return to Rome, for them to throw a coin with their right hand over their left shoulder, all while facing away from the fountain. The money collected in the fountain is used for charity purposes.

Quirinale Palace was built towards the latter half of the renaissance, in 1583, as Pope Gregory VIII used it as a papal summer residence. The location was chosen because it was far enough away from the smell of the Tiber River, which at the time was also Rome’s sewage outlet. From there on it was used as the headquarters of the papal state and used as conclave four times before the state of over thrown. During the unification of Italy and with Rome becoming the capital, Quirinale Palace became the official residence of the Kings of Italy. Although there were some monarchs that did choose to live in their own private residence. Then from 1947 the palace housed the president of the republic of Italy. The piazza in front of the palace is home to a fountain that was pulled from all different parts of Rome and assembled throughout centuries. The two figures are of Caster and Pollux, twin brothers that were horse tamers in both ancient Greek and Roman mythology, these statues originally stood in front of the bath houses of Constantine but brought over in 1588. The obelisk in between them was found during the excavation of Mausoleum of Augustus, which came in 1781. Finally the fountain itself was actually a watering trough for cattle in from the Roman Forum and brought in 1818. Scuderie del Quirinale, across the palace was a stable, housing one hundred and twenty horses strictly for the use of the Pope and his guest. Now it is used for temporary exhibitions that come through Rome.

Trevi is also home to over 20 churches that were built around the time of urbanization of the region. Something noticeable about the churches in this Rione is that they are smaller than other churches around Rome, this could be because the lack of room in the crowded Rioni. The Church of Saint Vicenzo and Anastacio, across from Trevi fountain, is very significant as it houses the hearts of over twenty Popes. Along with churches, the Rioni was home to several noble families such as the Barbernini’s and the Urban’s. Both families used Bernini to design and build various artwork and fountains for them. In Piazza Barbernini, the Tritone Fountain was one of Bernini’s first freestanding fountains. This fountain influenced his fountain in Piazza Navona. Now the piazza is an example of the progression of the Rioni, it looks somewhat out of place with its surrounding tall buildings but when it was originally constructed in 1642, it fit in with the buildings neighboring it. Bernini also design and built another fountain, this came second as the Tritone fountain didn’t suit the needs of those attempting to gather water from it. The Api fountain was designed for just that, it also located in the Piazza Barbernini but with the family’s bees on the bottom of it. Barbernini’s palace is also near by where Bernini designed a lot of the artwork in there.

When choosing Rioni for this project, I thought it was strictly based on the fountain. But I actually thought the opposite, the fountain is built and based from the Rione. Take away the thousands of tourist and tourist traps this Rioni is a fine example of the progression of the different eras Rome has went through and ability to adapt and survive the change.