Brick Wall Waterfall

If you were to spend an entire year in Rome, you could visit five churches every day and still miss out on some of the more than 1,600 within the city limits. You could also visit five piazzas (public squares) and never see all 2,000. If monuments are your thing, Rome has so many that instead of an actual count they simply say “more than any other city in the world”. And then we have Rome’s fountains. You could dip your hand in five a day and never see them all in a year. So here’s a better idea.  Just spend a few hours at the Trevi and assume all of the others are second best.

Fontana di Trevi

I wouldn’t decree “best fountain in all of Rome” if I hadn’t been there and seen it for myself.  I spent a college year in the Eternal City studying architecture, and you can’t help noticing the other elements of the city while you’re at it.  Like fountains on every street corner.  The Trevi Fountain was walking distance from the hotel/dorm we Americans lived in, so you can bet I stood before the Trevi’s gushing waterfalls many a day.  Even a few nights.

Most people assume “Trevi” is an Italian word.  It’s actually two words mashed into one. Tre = three, vie = ways.  The Trevi is located at the intersection of three streets.  It’s also the terminus for an aqueduct from ancient times.  Water is picked up from a source outside of the city, carried over fourteen miles through the aqueduct, and deposited “with a splash” at the Trevi, to be further dispersed to the city underground.

Here’s a little more trivia on the Trevi.  It was designed and built in the 1700s, on the back wall of a palace.  It’s primary material is travertine stone (pricey!) quarried from nearby Tivoli.  Besides the columns, arches, and niches along the wall, you have quite the trove of imagery going on over the water, with mythological creatures like tritons and hippocamps.  I have no idea who the sculpted figures gazing down from either side are, but the big guy front and center is Oceanus, a pre-Olympian god.

If you’re a top-five tourist attraction in Rome, you must be pretty darned attractive for a city with countless places to visit.  Maybe it’s the coin thing.  Why do tourists stand with their backs to the fountain and toss three coins over their shoulder into the water (right hand, left shoulder)?  Because legend says they’ll return to Rome some day if they do.  “Legend” is really just Hollywood, from the movie Three Coins in the Fountain.  But if you really know your Trevi trivia, you say the tossed coins follow the ancient tradition of honoring the gods of the waters, granting you safe passage home.  

I’ve talked about the Trevi before, in Too Many Roads Lead to Rome.  The fountain has become so popular you now need a ticket and a specific time to stand in front of it.  But what I haven’t done before is build the Trevi.  Last spring, the “architects” at LEGO immortalized the fountain in a 731-piece model, which I will construct over the next several blog posts.  I haven’t put my hands on a piece of LEGO since Notre-Dame du Paris last January (which still beckons me to add its lighting kit).  I might be a little rusty at this.  The fountain might leak a little.  But I’m up for a dip in this brick wall waterfall if you are.

Author’s Note: The title of this post was inspired by the strange-but-sweet Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.  The movie included a little ditty my thirty-one year old daughter can still recite to this day: “Brick wall, waterfall, Dickie thinks he got it all but he don’t, and I do, so BOOM with that attitude. Peace punch, Cap’n Crunch, I’ve got something you can’t touch. Bang-bang choo-choo train, wind me up I do my thing. No Reese’s Pieces, 7-Up, you mess with me, I’ll mess you up.”

Some content sourced from the TripAdvisor.com article, “Everything you need to know about the Trevi Fountain coins”; IMDB, “the Internet Movie Database”; and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.

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Author: Dave

Five hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

15 thoughts on “Brick Wall Waterfall”

  1. I’ve been to Rome three times, and I know what you mean about there always being more to see. That’s so cool you got a full year there! I’m glad I saw Trevi before it required a ticket and time slot. Sheesh! Good for the Romans, I guess. I look forward to seeing this new LEGO project progress. LEGOs, randomly, get mentioned both in my first novel and the sequel I’ve recently turned in to the publisher. I must have kids!

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    1. LEGOs give me even more reason to read your book 🙂 Speaking of, any idea when your publisher will ship the online order I made when you first advertised?

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      1. Ah, the power of LEGOs. I didn’t know you had ordered my book, Dave! That’s so kind of you! It doesn’t officially release from the publisher until Dec. 23, which, I know, is FOREVER away.

        HOWEVER, if you’re interested, I will send you a pdf through email. That way you can read it before most of the rest of the world and, ideally, if you’re willing, have a review at the ready to post on Amazon on release day. I’m told that’s a good thing to have happen.

        If you’re down with that, email me at IlsaReyAuthor at gmail and I’ll send it to you. 🙂

        You’re wonderful, Dave!

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    1. That’s how I felt about Charleston, SC the first time I saw it. Steeples and spires in every direction. Over 400 churches earns you the nickname “Holy City”!

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  6. Never been to Italy–only flew over it on our way to Israel. Fun to see its boot shape from the sky, but would much rather have included a stay on our itinerary. Of course, a country so rich in history, culture, architecture, the arts, and more, even your YEAR there probably wasn’t enough to explore the city of Rome sufficiently, much less the whole country. / Looking forward to watching you build the Lego version of the Trevi Fountain, Dave!

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  7. Looking forward to your new LEGO build stories. You do such a good job of documenting them!

    I am doing the LEGO Van Gogh Sunflowers, and though I have started blogging about it, I am not the story teller you are!

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  8. I’m glad we visited before they implemented the ticket requirement for Trevi Fountain. We walked by it, got our photos, then spent the next 30 minutes or so at the adjacent gelato shop, admiring the fountain, watching the crowd, and devouring our yummy treats. Worked out just fine! Can’t wait to see the Lego version!

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