The largest and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome, the Fontana di Trevi gets its name by being on the juncture of three roads (tre vie). The fountain also marks the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to Rome. The Aqua Virgo carried water the shortest distance possible directly to the Baths of Agrippa and served Rome for more than four hundred years. The custom to build a fountain at the end of an aqueduct was revived in the 15th century, and in 1453 Pope Nicholas V ordered that the Aqua Virgo (renamed Aqua Vergine) be rebuilt. In 1730 Pope Clement XII ordered the then simple basin to be remade into a vast piece of art, and by 1762 the huge fountain was completed. The fountain lies in front of the Palazzo Poli, and it was given a new facade with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters.

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In the center is superimposed a robustly modelled triumphal arch, and the exedra framing Neptune has freestanding columns for maximal light-and-shade. More and more of these elements were added, until the fountain became a riot of rockwork, sculpture, water, foam, and symbolism. It is said that it is lucky to throw coins with one's right hand over one's right shoulder into the Trevi Fountain. Such an act is done to ensure that the thrower will return to Rome. Throwing two coins makes sure that the thrower will fall in love with a beautiful person of Roman decent, and throwing three coins is to encourage that the thrower will marry that girl/boy in Rome itself.

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