Fontana di Trevi

In 1629 Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but when the Pope died, the project was abandoned. Bernini's lasting contribution was to resite the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace (so the Pope could look down and enjoy it). Though Bernini's project was torn down for Salvi's fountain, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it was built. Competitions had become the rage during the Baroque era to design buildings and fountains. In 1730 Pope Clement XII organized a contest in which Nicola Salvi initially lost to Alessandro Galilei — but due to the outcry in Rome over the fact that a Florentine won, Salvi was awarded the commission anyway. Work began in 1732, and the fountain was completed in 1762. This fountain is symbolic and almost theatrical in style. It is set against the facade of Palazzo Poli. In the background there is an Arch of Triumph, which frames a statue of Neptune. Two tritons try to master an agitated seahorse and a placid on each seahorse symbolizing a distinct mood of the sea.