I’ve been the “Fast Culture” columnist for Italia! Magazine for more than 12 years. My new book, Rome Through the Mist: Walks Among the Fountains of the Eternal City, invites readers to join me on a journey among 80 of Rome’s celebrated fountains, to find a more intimate way of experiencing the Eternal City.
On foot with book in hand, or simply in imagination, each chapter takes readers on a vividly described walk, enhanced with Patricia’s colorful, subtly revealing photographs of Roman life.
Every fountain in Rome tells a story; every story is about Rome: her history, her legends, and her extraordinary people, from poets to popes, artists to models, architects to emperors. Every street, piazza, wall and garden that contains a fountain has a past worth knowing. You are invited to follow the paths in this book, with 15 different step-by-step walking tours, 17 maps, and 181 photos.
There are plenty of hints, too, about things to see and experience along the way, especially the matchless artistic treasures that await behind unexpected doors. In your armchair or on your feet, journey from Trevi’s torrents to the Naiad’s naughty nymphs; from the quiet basins in Piazza San Simeone to Bernini’s mighty Four Rivers in Piazza Navona; from the Dark Fountains in Villa Borghese to the charming lionesses in Piazza del Popolo, and listen to the voices of the waters.
As you explore, with Rome’s fountains as guideposts, you’ll discover many of the city’s famous sights, and many more that are little-known wonders. Here are just a few:
Trevi Fountain
Tossing a coin in the Trevi
Hotel Fontana, facing the Trevi Fountain
Trevi seen from the Penthouse Lounge of the Hotel Fontana
Pepy’s Bar in Piazza Barberini, famous for Rome’s most elegant …
… tramezzini (sandwiches)
Changing of the Guard, Presidential Palace, on the Quirinale Hill
Vicus Caprarius, an ancient neighborhood and cistern, beneath the streets near the Trevi Fountain
Nymph of the Underground Waters
In Piazza Repubblica
Naiad Fountain
Hellenistic Statue “The Boxer” in Palazzo Massimo
Baths of Diocletian
Colossal Animal Heads in the Baths of Diocletian
Bernini’s “Ecstasy of St. Teresa” in Santa Maria della Vittoria church
Galleria Borghese
Michelangelo’s Santa Maria degli Angeli church faces the Naiad Fountain
The Dark Fountains
in Villa Borghese Park
Bernini’s “Apollo and Daphne” in the Galleria Borghese
Detail of Bernini’s “Abduction of Persephone” in Galleria Borghese
Enjoying a“Bici” ride, Villa Borghese Park
Children’s Playground beneath Villa Borghese Park’s famous umbrella pines
A reader checks her map, en-route to Piazza Navona
One of Villa Borghese Park’s “Secret Gardens”
Rowboats for hire in Villa Borghese Park’s “Little Lake” - the Laghetto
San Simeone Fountain
Caravaggio’s “St. Matthew and the Angel”, San Luigi dei Francesi church, on the way to Piazza San Simeone
Caravaggio’s “Calling of St. Matthew”, San Luigi dei Francesi church
Architect’s 18th century model of the Trevi Fountain, in the Museum of Rome, Piazza Navona
Ancient Arches & Walls of the Stadium of Domitian, beneath a corner of Piazza Navona on the way from Piazza San Simeone to the Four Rivers Fountain
Bernini’s Four Rivers Fountain, Piazza Navona
Spire of Borromini’s St. Ivo church, seen from the Museum of Rome, Piazza Navona
Borromini’s Sant’Agnese in Agone church, Piazza Navona
Interior of Sant’Agnese in Agone church, Piazza Navona
Wind-tossed balloons for sale, Piazza Navona
Fountain of the Moor in front of the Museum of Rome, Piazza Navona
The Lions Fountain
in Piazza del Popolo
Porta del Popolo, historic northern gateway to Rome
Piazza del Popolo seen from the Pincio Hill
Stairs from Piazza del Popolo up the Pincio Hill
Caravaggio’s “Crucifixion of St. Peter” …
…and “Conversion of St. Paul” , in Santa Maria del Popolo church
Historic “Via del Corso” from Piazza del Popolo into the heart of Rome, is also popular for shopping
Via del Corso ends at Piazza Venezia and the giant Victor Emanuel II Monument
Let my book be your tour guide, let your feet or your fancy replace the tour bus, and have an up-close encounter with Rome. You’ve just met six fountains, and the marvels around them, on this page. Let me introduce you to seventy-four more in Rome Through the Mist: Walks Among the Fountains of the Eternal City.