TREVI FOUNTAIN IN ROME BEAUTIFULLY TRANSFORMS INTO INCREDIBLE CANVAS FOR LIGHT SHOW

Over 21 million tourists visited Rome last year, and it's safe to assume that many of them stopped at the Trevi Fountain. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the best specimens of Italian design, measuring 86 feet high by 161 feet broad. In May, the Trevi Fountain was again used as a backdrop for an extravagant light display in honor of the Internationali BNL d'Italia tennis competition.

The public was welcome to attend the free light show, which illuminated the fountain with colourful splashes every ten minutes from 9 p.m. to midnight. Projector mapping was used to create these animations, which all directly interacted with the fountain's different characteristics. For example, a dramatic ripple that appears to be emanating from the water below moves across the entire fountain at the start of the show. Rich blues would later flow over the sculptures, and later flashes of yellow would flare across its elaborate columns. At one point, colourful designs that evoke old Roman mosaics softly revolve around the middle of the fountain.

There were differing views on the light show, as is the case with any public art project. Some were enthralled, viewing the performance as a fusion of modern technology, tradition, and history. Others voiced their disapproval, saying that the landmark's aesthetic integrity had been violated. 

One user on Instagram commented, “It’s a beautiful, historic fountain, and the light show looks like something you would see in Las Vegas. It cheapens it.”

“It doesn’t need any enhancement, especially from digitisation,” another user added. “It’s stunning and awe-inspiring all alone.” However, despite the negative feedback, others disagreed: “This was awesome to see,” one person commented, and another added, “I want to go back.”

Even if these distinctions are ignored, the light display nevertheless raises interesting issues about how the past and present ought to coexist, especially about such culturally important structures.