On February 8th 1751, the Roman architect Nicola Salvi, who designed the Trevi Fountain, died in his native city. On the wall to the right of the fountain sits is a large stone vase, an incongruous element in the overall design. It is known as the 'Asso di Coppe' (Ace of Cups), on account of its resemblance to an Italian playing card, and according to a commonly told tale, it was added by Salvi to block the view of a barber, whose shop stood on the other side of the street, from being able to see the fountain. It seems that the barber was in the habit of criticising both Salvi and his design of the fountain. Salvi was so piqued that he added the vase so that the barber couldn't see what would become the most famous in the world. Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private walking tours of Rome.
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