Niccolo Salvi,
Nicola also spelled Niccolò (born Aug. 6, 1697, Rome
[Italy]—died Feb. 8, 1751, Rome), Italian sculptor and architect
whose late Roman Baroque masterpiece is the Trevi Fountain in
Rome.
After studying painting and
architecture, Salvi competed unsuccessfully in 1732 for the
commission to make the facade of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome,
but in the same year his project for the Trevi Fountain was
chosen in preference to those of many competitors. Most of his
energy was absorbed by the work; he was responsible not only for
the overall design but also for the details of the decoration
and the program of the statuary. After Salvi’s death, Giuseppe
Pannini finished the fountain in 1762, somewhat altering the
original scheme. The idea of combining palace front and fountain
was derived from a project by Pietro da Cortona, but the grand
pageantry of the fountain’s central triumphal arch with its
mythological and allegorical figures, natural rock formations,
and gushing water was Salvi’s. Salvi also executed minor works
in churches and, with Luigi Vanvitelli, enlarged Gian Lorenzo
Bernini’s Odescalchi Palace.
Niccolo Salvi.
Fontana di Trevi
1732-62
Marble
Piazza di Trevi, Rome
