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Federica, a local tour guide and owner of the Instagram account @livevirtualguide, recently posted a video showing the route to a little-known Roman site that, while seemingly exotic, ended up being the area beneath the Trevi Fountain.
The famous Trive Fountain in Rome, Italy. - Photo: Unsplash/Michele Bitetto
Vicus Caprarius, also known as the City of Water, is an ancient Roman underground apartment complex located beneath Rome's Trevi Fountain and fountain. The archaeological site dates back to the 1st century, but was not discovered until the late 1990s.
Today, visitors can reach this underground site by going deep into the Rinascente shopping mall - located right next to the fountain - to see the houses of the ancient Roman elite. The entrance fee to this archaeological site is only 4 Euros (about more than 100,000 VND). Inside the space also displays samples of hundreds of artifacts found during the excavation, including terracotta figurines, African pottery, mosaic tiles and more than 800 coins.
What could make this mysterious place even more special? Perhaps the system of water flowing through it. At Vicus Caprarius, visitors will find pools filled with water thanks to the Aqua Virgo, one of the 11 aqueducts of ancient Rome. This is also the aqueduct that feeds the Trevi Fountain, meaning that the water in Vicus Caprarius eventually flows to the fountain above, where visitors toss coins into to make a wish, according to local legend.
