The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) is one of the most iconic sights in Rome. This fountain, a late Baroque masterpiece, was designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. The fountain stands about eighty-five feet high and is approximately 160 feet wide. At the center is Pietro Bracci’s statue of Oceanus standing on a chariot pulled by sea horses and accompanied by tritons, similar to how I get around Rome (okay, I wish). While apparently splashing around in the fountain like Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni in La Dolce Vita is frowned upon, visitors are allowed to toss coins in, since according to legend, those who toss coins into its waters will return to Rome. But don’t worry, at the end of each day the coins are collected and donated to charity.

Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome. — Bernini's *Fountain of the Four Rivers* in Rome.

Commissioned by Pope Innocent X in the 1600s, the Fountain of the Four Rivers is located in Piazza Navona, the ancient stadium of the Emperor Domitian and the site of the palace of the Pamphilis, the pope's family. Surrounded by an ancient obelisk with a dove on the top to signify not only the Holy Spirit but also conveniently the Pamphili family emblem, the fountain depicts pagan gods of the four great rivers in the four continents as then recognized by the Renaissance geographers: the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia, the Danube in Europe and the Río de la Plata in America. The sculpture pictured above represents the Río de la Plata and the Americas, and the coins represent the wealth they perceived would be found in the Americas. The size and placement of the sculptures on the fountain lead the viewer in a circular motion, as there is not one position that offers a view of the entire fountain. Although it's my favorite fountain in Rome, I respectfully managed to refrain from getting in and taking a swim.