After visiting a modern art exhibit featuring Piet Mondrian I ventured through the city until I discovered the Trevi Fountain, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Rome. The fountain is one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in the city and possibly one of the most famous fountains in the world. In 1730 Pope Clement XII held a competition to pick a design for a newly commissioned fountain. Nicola Salvi won the competition, with Oceanus, the God of all Water, featured in the center.
Although the surrounding area around the fountain is busy with tourists it is still easy to get down to the fountain, and even drink from some of the free running faucets on its flanks. Many people throw coins behind them in to the water because of an old superstition that this will result in your eventual return to Rome. As a result, the Trevi Fountain is estimated to collect an estimated 3,000 Euro a day, which is used to subsidize food pantries for the cities homeless.
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