New Guide of Rome, Naples and their Environs from the Italian of Vasi and Nibby

1841

Special Collections DG804 VA34 1841

Rome: Montaldini

80,000 cubic metres of water gush out of the Trevi Fountain every day. The Baroque-design fountain is made of travertine, a kind of limestone, and slabs of Carrara marble. The central figure of the fountain, built over a period of 30 years in the 18th century, is Oceanus or Neptune aboard his shell chariot pulled by two winged seahorses with mermaid tails. The seahorses are wrangled by Tritons or mermen. This 19th century guide book outlines an eight-day tour of Rome describing what monuments and buildings to visit. On the fourth day it suggests a trip to the Trevi Fountain where ‘the waters…rush out of a mass of rocks’