The Plants of the Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain is perhaps the most famous fountain in the world for its monumental nature, highlighted by the figure of Ocean on a chariot drawn by sea horses above the gathering pool of the Acqua Vergine, that on one side dissolves into a natural curve and the other follows the curved shape of the pool. The Fountain tells a story which is told over more than seventeen hundred years, from 19 B.C. when the aqueduct of the Acqua Vergine was built at the behest of Marcus Agrippa to 1762 with the completion of the project by Nicola Salvi. Salvi wanted his project to express the transformation of the matter by water, which arises with “Abundance of fruits, the fertility of the fields, the riches of autumn and the amenity of the grasslands”, represented in statues located in the side niches. The Acqua Vergine has been restored numerous times over the years with the collaboration of different artists and has a high cultural value which includes history, art and nature as an integral part. It is this last point which this book focuses on, highlighting the plant species depicted in the travertine blocks and in particular, on the cliff. The description of the 22 species through images, their origin and distribution and herbal properties, are just a small sample of the wonderful biological diversity drawn, sculpted and interpreted by artists of all ages and represents a heritage to be preserved for future generations. The medicinal properties of the species have also been highlighted to stimulate the reader’s interest while contemplating that the practice of cultivation of species with healing principles, already used by the Egyptians in 331 B.C., has never been abandoned over the centuries. Moreover, the images of the species lead the reader to discover the same in other areas of the city where they are colonizing or carved on monuments, such as the caper, or present in urban parks and gardens.