Fontana Di Trevi
Alfred Austin
Why do I sit within the spell
Of eyes like thine, who oft have known
What 'tis in Beauty's gaze to dwell,
And then—to feel alone:
Back be remitted to my cell,
Too lately near a throne?
What though the moon on Trevi's fount,
Whilst we together drink, doth shine,
Can it the rural miles remount,
Or I subtract from mine?
Whilst Time hath scarce begun to count
The pleasant paths of thine.
How vain to thus divide its wave!
It will not help to blend our own.
Thy voice is gay, but mine is grave,
As thine too will have grown
In days when nought is left thee save
A half—remembered tone.
The light that gilds my world no more,
But only now just breaks on thine;
Thy shadows stretch all bright before,
Behind in darkness mine.
Leave me my unillumined shore,
And in thy lustre shine!
Forth to thy Future, gifted child!
Oh, be it fair as thou!
As thy sweet tones and temper mild,
And cloudless as thy brow;
And thou wilt then be reconciled
That I am silent now!
The Trevi Fountain is the end of one of Rome's ancient acqueducts - the Acqua Virgo. The current fountain was designed by Nicola Salvi in 1730 and construction was complete by 1762.
The fountain is the location of an iconic movie scene from Fellini's great work La Dolce Vita - late at night a beautiful, statuesque and barefoot Britt Ekland cavorts in the fountain with Marcello Mastroianni.
About 3000 coins are thrown into the fountain each day. The money is used to help Rome's poor. It is said that if a visitor throws a coin into the fountain, they will return to Rome.
