Throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain
Today we invite you to enjoy our curiosity about Rome.
The Trevi Fountain is a monumental fountain, spectacular opera, one of the symbols of Rome’s most famous in the world.
As is often the works most beautiful and famous, it does not only speak the language of art, but has also invaded the history, folklore, anecdotes, costume. Its landscape is now entered in the collective imagination in cinema … who can forget such as bath Anita Ekberg in “the sweet life” or the hilarious sale of the fountain in “Totò truffa 62”?
It ‘s almost natural that this fountain is the scene of many stories … so I return to speak in other posts. Meanwhile, we say famous ancient tradition of throwing a coin into the tank, back to the fountain to ensure your return to Rome. But where does this tradition of throwing the coin? Well, the fountain itself actually shows the ancient water source, the water virgin, and once the water sources, often, such as wells, were sacred, and they used to throw in, as a sacrifice to the gods and propitiatory purposes, something of value (ehi! this not remind you of something? … of course! The Lacus Curtius!).
According to legend the source, Living room, about 20 km. from the city, quenched the exhausted soldiers of Agrippa returned to Rome (19 AD). The precise place where it was this source was shown to the soldiers by a young girl (Latin virgo), from which “aqua virgo” (“virgin water”, but also … pure water). Through an aqueduct largely sottorraneo (and still running!) Agrippa caused water here. A “sign” of the legend of the girl we still find today: cercatene the bas-relief in the fountain.
Perhaps in the wake of the legend of the soldiers of Agrippa who began to argue that those who drank this water would always return to Rome. And so, until a few decades ago, it is said that the fountain on the right side, at the beginning of the path of printing, took place a little secret ritual: the girls were drinking ‘s “virgin water” fountain of their boyfriends before their departure, all sealed by a toast with glasses which were then broken. In this way, the toast was symbolically non-repeatable, and even loyalty was assured. Not surprisingly, the fountain is still called the “fountain of love”.
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We must remember that the marble groups of the Trevi fountain are the allegorical meanings related to the sea, just the eternal half that separates and unites travelers: the central figure of the group represents the god Oceanus, the two horses on the sides, a rough and a placid, the two possible aspects in which the sea presents itself.
The sea itself is the big tub … but this is perhaps already knew that! In fact, with our coin toss in the tub we had that strange feeling of … “jettison” our money?
