A Week in Rome: Great Fountains

It's one of the best sights in Rome, and must be seen after dark to be truly appreciated. It's not by Michelangelo or Bernini, and you won't find it in most art history textbooks. But it is one of the most memorable sculptures in town. It's the Trevi Fountain, nestled in rabbit-warren streets in the heart of old Rome. Art critics scoff at it, but the light dancing in the fountain on a clear evening is magical.

On a cool November night, the small square is uncrowded, the restaurants still have plenty of tables, and gelato can be had without a wait. And it's easy to find a spot to throw your coin into the fountain, guaranteeing your return to Rome some day.

In summer, I'm told, this experience is significantly less romantic due to the crush of crowds and the suffocating heat and humidity. But we enjoyed our November Trevi fountain.

If you look closely at the base of the fountain, it appears that the sculptures and the building behind them are growing out of rough rocks, like a tree with roots.

More celebrated in the art world is Bernini's masterful Four Rivers Fountain, in the Piazza Navona. This piazza is one of the largest pedestrian-only piazzas in the city and the fountain is its mighty centerpiece.

Each of the men carved into the fountain represents one of the four greatest rivers known at the time of the Renaissance. Intriguingly, one of the figures, the Nile, has his head covered, as nobody knew where its headwaters were at the time the sculpture was carved.

The center of the chunk of marble reveals the buildings behind like a keyhole.

From another perspective, a confused horse surgese through the middle of the sculpture while one of the rivers raises his hand in horror while being run over by a BMW.