Trevi Fountain

If it were standing on its own in a huge open space, this Baroque water fantasy would probably never have become the draw that it is today. It’s the fact that it’s hemmed in among the lanes and Medieval houses of the centro storico that makes it so magical when you finally stumble upon it. The Acqua Vergine is the only one of Rome’s aqueducts that still flows along its original course, and this is its final destination. At first it was said that those who drank the water would return to Rome; the tradition later changed to the present-day custom of turning your back on the fountain and throwing a coin over your shoulder into the basin (the coins go to charity). Don’t try and wade in though, like Anita Ekberg in Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita: there’s a policeman on hand at all times to make sure the visitors and the water don’t mix.