The Trevi Fountain - Rome, Italy

The Trevi Fountain - Rome, Italy 

The Trevi fountain is probably the most famous fountain in the world. It was built at the termination point of an ancient aqueduct named Aqua Virgo and is named after the fact that it was built at the junction of three roads (tre vie). Legend has it that Roman technicians located a source for fresh water, about 13 km away from the city with the the help of a virgin. This scene is depicted on the facade of the fountain.

More photographs inside.

Detail of the Trevi Fountain - Rome, Italy

The fountain was one of the first places we visited and, as expected, there was a huge crowd seated on the steps around the fountain and taking it all in. Getting a decent photograph of the entire fountain was virtually impossible as there were people constantly walking into the frame. As a result, I resorted to taking a number of "detail" shots of smaller sections of the fountain.

Detail of the Trevi Fountain - Rome, Italy

We got to the fountain at about four in the evening and the light was pretty good for photography. It was warm, directional light which gave a lot of depth to the photographs. I think we spent around an hour at the fountain photographing small sections of it. A photograph of the entire fountain was on my shot list but there was no way that I was going to capture it that day.

Detail of the Trevi Fountain - Rome, Italy

To get the shot of the entire fountain (first photograph on this post) I decided to make an early start. I got to the fountain at around 5.30 in the morning and found the place empty. I spent about 40 minutes alone at the fountain, photographing it from a whole range of angles before other photographers started to arrive.