Inside the Trevi Fountain's hidden water flow control room

A view of Rome's Trevi Fountain, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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A view of Rome's Trevi Fountain, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

ROME, Italy — The Trevi Fountain, arguably the world’s most famous, has graced screens for decades, from Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” to Netflix’s “Emily in Paris.”

Each year, millions of visitors push through Rome’s narrow streets to gaze at the towering Titan god flanked by falls cascading into a turquoise pool.

READ: A wish at Rome’s Trevi Fountain could soon cost more than the coin you toss

Yet, they never get to venture behind Oceanus’ back to see what produces the sublime play of water in the baroque masterpiece.

A worker of Rome's main water and energy company, ACEA, opens the door of Rome's Trevi Fountain's old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

What’s inside?

Wooden doors on an adjacent street lead to the maneuvering chambers that control the fountain’s water supply, coming from the Aqua Virgo — an ancient Roman aqueduct 16 kilometers (10 miles) away.

Two electric pumps recycle 126 liters (33 gallons) of water per second while Rome’s water management company, ACEA, carefully monitors the flow around the clock.

A worker of Rome's main water and energy company, ACEA, walks in Rome's Trevi fountain's new water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

This precise amount is crucial for the movement of water through the statues; a little more or less, and it wouldn’t work, said Davide D’Alonzo, ACEA’s manager for the area.

A worker of Rome's main water and energy company, ACEA, operates on a dashboard of Rome's Trevi Fountain's new water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The modern maneuvering chamber features metal tanks and lighted panels. In the original, arched chamber, water audibly rushes through a thick pipe and there is a functional, 18th-century hydrometer to gauge the fountain’s water level.

A view of Rome's Trevi Fountain's old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A large, rudimentary spreadsheet on the wall displays the names of rich Roman families whose homes received water from the chamber long ago; when they fell behind on their payments, their supply was cut off.

A view of Rome's Trevi Fountain's old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The chamber’s grated windows grant views out over the fountain and its many visitors — all of whom are oblivious to its hidden waterworks. They toss coins over their shoulders into the water, a hopeful gesture based on a legend that it guarantees their return to the eternal city.

READ: What happens to the coins tossed into Rome’s Trevi Fountain?

A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)