Origins of the Trevi Fountain date back to 19 B.C. from the ancient aqueduct Aqua Virgo.
A source of pure water was said to have been discovered by some Roman soldiers only a few miles from the city and legend narrates that it was found with the help of a maiden virgin. A representation of this event is interpreted on the fountains façade.
When the aqueducts were damaged by besiegers during medieval times, Romans were forced to used polluted wells and water from the Tiber, also used as a sewer during that time.
In the 15th century, during the Renaissance, the ancient custom of erecting a fountain at the ending point of an aqueduct used by the Romans, was revived. The Aqua Virgo was mended and a simple basin was designed by Leon Battista Alberti to announce the water's arrival.
A project was initiated, during the papacy of Pope Urban VIII around 1629, for a new design of the fountain and the famous Baroque artist Bernini was asked to present some drawings for a new design. The pope died during the process and Bernini's project was abandoned and many of his contributions remain.
The fountain carries a theme of the sea with, the statue of "Ocean", by Pietro Bracci in the center above a conch shell-shaped cart driven by Titon and pulled by two sea horses. The two statues on each side of Ocean represent Health and Prosperity while the horses represent both the agitated and calm sea.
The statue of Neptune riding a chariot drawn by another two sea horses and two tritons dominates the fountain in the center.
contains The statue of Abundance with Agrippa are portrayed in the left niche, while the niche on the right contains the statue of Salubrity, with above it a relief of the virgin leading the soldiers to the source.
Some years later, during the Renaissance, competitions to redesign structures in Rome were the object of widespread enthusiasm. New work began on the fountain in 1732 by Nicola Salvi during the papacy of Pope Clement XII. Salvi died in 1751, before finishing the job, and work was carried on by Giuseppe Pannini. The fountain was inaugurated in 1735, although Neptune that dominates the fountain, done by Pietro Bracci, wasn't set in the central niche until 1762.