The Trevi Fountain or Fontana di Trevi is the largest and most famous baroque fountain in Rome. The fountain gets it’s name from the fact that it sits at the junction of three roads or in Italian “tre vie”. Traditionally Romans built rather elaborate fountains at the terminal point of their aqueducts. In this case the Trevi Fountain marks the end of the Acqua Vergine as well as the Acqua Virgo which were originally built in 19 BC by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Today the Trevi Fountain is one of Rome’s more popular tourist attractions. Legend has it that if you toss a coin in the fountain you are guaranteed to return to Rome, toss in two coins and a new romance will blossom and three coins will lead to marriage or divorce! Over a million euros are tossed into the fountain each year and the proceeds help fund a supermarket for the needy in Rome.
The day before I took this photograph I attempted to get a shot of the fountain during the day and was stopped by two of Rome’s finest police officers. While hundreds of people were taking snapshots I was confronted by these 2 officers who told me it was forbidden to take photos in Rome with a tripod. Now I can understand needing a permit for a commercial shoot, in fact I use them all the time when shooting commercially. It’s only fair to get a permit if you will be blocking a street, traffic or cause a distraction by photographing stunning models in a public place. There are liability issues, which is why I have insurance, in fact I’ve been on shoots where people have driven into trees because they were staring at my models when they should have been watching the road! What I find hard to fathom is why taking 2 minutes to capture a photo with a camera on a tripod poses a national security threat. What made it worse is that the policemen could not tell me where I could get a permit and then proceeded to follow me around as if they were shadowing some arch villain from a comic book.
As usual, things happen for a reason and I left the tourist infested Trevi Fountain to console myself with a a plate of potato gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce, a couple of glasses of relatively inexpensive but delicious chianti and perhaps the most decadent sfogliatelle pastry in the history of Italy. Feeling much better I went off to photograph some other locations on my list and plotted to return to the fountain in similar fashion of general MacArthur returning to the Phillipines. I rose well before sunrise the next day in hopes of there not being any tourists or police at the Trevi Fountain and I was fifty percent lucky. Not a tourist in sight at 5 am, however there was a police car with 2 officers in it. Since it was dark I could not tell if they had seen me or my wicked tripod so I meandered along nonchalantly in hopes of disguising my fiendish photographic intent. My ruse was a success! I cleverly placed myself just out of sight and took a series of photos of the fountain and ended up with one of my favorite images from my trip to Europe.
Dear Roman police… Grazie Mille! :^)
Enjoy more travel photography and stories:
I just love the stories that accompany your beautiful work! It’s rare to get the know the “plot” behind the image…
xoxo Beth
Wow, I seriously love this pic. I can’t believe you can’t use a tripod – that is crazy. Rome has been my favorite place to take pictures :)
Thanks Beth and Krystal, Rome truly is a photographer’s dream and it’s sad that there are limitations on how we are allowed to photograph such incredible places. History is for everyone to enjoy.
Incredible fountain; incredible photo. Tell me when you are going on a shoot and I will go too and do my best to distract the police. Never realized what hoops a photographer has to jump through to get a picture. Makes for interesting times albiet frustrating. Don’t weaken, you are winning.
After my divorce and house sold , i went to my travel agent to point me in a direction.Where would u like to go , i said at first finland i have a friend there id like to visit too expensive! Next choice italy 12 cities in 12 days starting in rome then venice,verona, florence, tuscany,assissi,almafia coast, capri and naples.Rome was awesome the food people and the sites and the art. The trevi fountain beyond breath taking and when u throw in some coins becarefull what u wish for because your wish will come true , mine and my moms did! ROMA RULES!!!
This shot is awesome, The post processing is spot on!. Sucks that you aren’t allowed to carry a tripod, I ran into that problem alot in Japan. I’d look around for anything I could prop myself up against to help stabalize the shots lol. Great work Ken!!!
@ Art Lover -I could use a distraction in a lot of the places I shoot… you’re hired!
@Mike -Sounds like an amazing trip, glad the wishes came true. Now I have to go back, I forgot to toss a coin!
@Chris -Thanks for the nice compliment. I am getting to be a master of propping, leaning and breath holding as well. Looking forward to shooting in Japan myself sometime soon, you must have had a lot of fun.
Amazing Image..and your experience too.
If you do not mind we will link your plot for our guests as well..
Many Thanks
It seems you have a problem with Italian Police, like in Piazza del Popolo, as you written some time ago. Good luck next time when you are in Rome.
ZOMG I was just at the fountain less then a week ago! I shoulda been smart like you and gone back in the wee hours of the morning!
On a side note the police there make me have a sad face with tripods. The 3 fountains area, and many others, I was also told no tripod or close tripod. I’d wait for the police to leave and then take em anyways. Hopefully Greece will be better. To Athens!
Side side note…..Go to Croatia lakes. If you go in the summer you will find eden….Im 99% certain the Croatia lakes are the garden of Eden. Going in other times of the year like fall can make for some cool mist shots as well tho.
For more info about Trevi Fountain in Rome I suggest to visit this page:
http://www.welcometorome.net/en/places-in-rome/see/monuments/trevi-fountain
Italy is a wonderful country and people are nice and friendly but those working in the public sector… Your story says it all!,,,
Just a quick question. could you sue a monopod to pop off 3 shots to use for HDR?
You could but I would not suggest it for night photography with longer exposures.
I am planning a trip to Rome this sept…is it really not allowed to shoot with a tripod?please suggest how and where to get a permit ? I am not a professional photographer
Thanks
In many places in Rome they will ask you to not to use a tripod. I’d just use it anyway until you get stopped. Go shoot early in the morning to avoid crowds and police. :-)