Like many historical monuments of Rome, also the
renowned Trevi Fountain has many stories to be revealed. Among these there is
one connected to the sculpture placed on
the left side of it, known as the "Ace of Cups", due to the
similarity with the subject of playing cards, which sees a barber as a protagonist.
Curious? We must state that there are no
reliable or historical sources about this, but it is a fact that this vase is
an object almost alien to the rest of the decoration of the famous fountain,
the work of the great architect Nicola Salvi, characterized by cliffs and
rustic elements in which a “cup” is absolutely out of place.
In 1732, when Nicola Salvi was committed to highlighting
in a monumental way the otherwise humble output of the “Aqua Vergine” an old aqueduct
end, that was located in Piazza di Trevi, the heart of the Trevi district.
During the works, the residents of the area,
the traders and the artisans used to watch the progress of the works with
curiosity, sometimes having their say on the project and the state of the art
of the fountain. It's something you can see still nowadays, all
around the world.
Among these was a barber who had his own shop
on the ground floor of Palazzo Castellani, at the entrance to Via della
Stamperia, right on the side to the right of the fountain.
This barber - whose name is unknown - used to
have his say to Salvi on the project and the state of the art, continually
criticizing the architect and his project. The criticisms must have become
unbearable for Salvi who then decided to put a stop to the situation: he
decided to make a large sculpted vase right in front of the barber's shop, thus
preventing him from seeing the fountain, so that he would no longer have to to
say about the work.
As mentioned, the story is very suggestive but
there is no certain information about it. However, it must be said that the
vase is indeed oddly different from the rest of the decoration, and that Salvi
himself described his own fountain “with a rustic baluster decorated with two
pointy rocks, where we see the larger one remaining partially in its roughness,
and partially carved in the manner of a Vase, in a jokingly fashion”. Maye the
use of "jokingly" suggests a
fun purpose for the creation of the vase?
We do not know what were the alleged criticisms
that the barber would have addressed to Salvi, but we do know instead that the
Roman architect's work is recognized throughout the world as a great
masterpiece of art.
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