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The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most famous fountain. It was designed by Nicola Salvi and was completed in 1762. It is was designed so that visitors would always hear the fountain before they were able to see it. For that reason the Trevi Fountain is difficult to take a reasonable photograph of the fountain with a normal lensed camera. The main figures are Neptune with two Tritons, one trying to control a wild sea-horse, the other a calmer animal. These represent the two contrasting moods of the sea. Further details about the Trevi Fountain The fountain is the terminal part of the Vergine aqueduct built by Agrippa, a general of Augustus, in 19 B.C. to bring the water coming from the Salone springs, 19 km away, to Rome. Legend, illustrated in the fountain's upper panels, has it that it was a young girl who showed Agrippa's thirsty soldiers where a copious spring gushed forth. Hence the name of the aqueduct which, running underground for a long stretch, is the only one in Rome that has remained in use almost uninterruptedly from the time of its construction to the present day. This is the aqueduct that supplies the water to the monumental fountains of the historic centre, from Piazza Navona to Piazza di Spagna. The name "Trevi", is supposed to be derived from the word Trivium, a meeting point of three streets that form this little widened area. The artist, Salvi set the fountain almost entirely against the face of Palazzo Poli, preceding it with a little balconied scene, almost as if it were a theatre! The artist was, however, disturbed during his work by the continuous criticism expressed by a barber who had his shop in the square. To shut him up, during one night Salvi created the large basin, called the "Ace of Cups", situated on the right-hand balustrade, which completely blocked the view of the fountain from the shop. It is said that if a visitor wants to return to Rome, they have to throw a coin into the basin.
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