Rome’s Trevi Fountain Flows Despite Aqua Virgo Damage

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  06.14.07 | 10:44 AM ET

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Photo by scriptingnews via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

Aqua Virgo, a more than 2,000-year-old underground Roman aqueduct responsible for feeding the globally-famous, coin-filled Trevi Fountain (pictured), has been damaged during the construction of an underground garage. The accident caused the water to stop flowing to the fountain, but, according to the BBC, water from another aquduct has been “redirected to the Trevi to avoid the spectacle of it running dry.” Travelers to Rome, then, will be able to continue to throw their coins in the fountain to ensure a return trip to the Eternal City.

The Aqua Virgo dates to the era of Emperor Augustus—which means you can probably tour parts of it virtually in Rome Reborn—and it will be an estimated two months before water flows through it again. But the old aqueduct will not be the same. Giorgio Signore, a spokesperson for the Acea water company, says, “We can repair it but we can’t really reconstruct it the way it was built.”

Tags: Architecture, Europe, Italy, News and Briefs


1 Comment for Rome’s Trevi Fountain Flows Despite Aqua Virgo Damage

Tony 06.19.07 | 2:42 PM ET

Regarding the article on the damage to the Aqua Virgo, mention is made that the aquaduct can be repaired but not reconstructed as it originally was.  That, it seems, would not be a problem as long as the regular water pressure is restablished.  I hate to think that the wonderful Trevi would have to suffice with so much as a trickle less than usual.

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