Who Designed the Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain is a famous fountain located in the Trevi district of Rome, Italy. It was designed in the Baroque style, which was an artistic style that began in Italy and featured dramatic and grand works. The fountain is more than 26 m (85 ft) high and 49 m (160.7 ft) wide and is one of the largest fountains in Baroque style in the world. The fountain is well known around the world and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome. The fountain has existed for many years as the site of an ancient aqueduct, but the modern fountain came much later. Let’s find out who designed this impressive fountain.
Who designed the Trevi Fountain?
The idea for creating an impressive Baroque style fountain on the site began in 1629 with Pope Urban VIII. He asked Italian architect and artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini to create a series of sketches to renovate the site. Even though the project was abandoned when the pope died in 1644, some of Bernini’s ideas were used in the creation of the fountain. The fountain remained untouched until 1730 when Pope Clement XII held a contest to design the fountain. Alessandro Galilei was announced the winner, but public outcry forced a change in decision. The commission was instead awarded to Italian architect Nicola Silva and work on the fountain began in 1732. Silva died in 1751 with the fountain only half complete and it was completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.
An extensive renovation of the fountain occurred in 1998. At this time the fountain was cleaned, cracking and other damaged areas were repaired, and special pumps were added. In 2013 another series of more significant restorations began.
Did you know?
According to tradition, tourists throw a coin into the fountain to guarantee to return to Rome. It is estimated that more than 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain every day. This money is used to fund a grocery store for poor people in the area!
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