Traveling in the Italy of Three Coins in the Fountain

It's time for one last sojourn in Rome! 

gif by me

This week, we're travelling around the Italy featured in Three Coins in the Fountain, a mid-century women's picture about three women (played by Maggie McNamara, Jean Peters and Dorothy McGuire) who make a wish in the Trevi Fountain for the year they're all living together in Rome. 

Three Coins in the Fountain came out in 1954 and was nominated for a trio of Oscars: Best Cinematography and Best Song, which it won, and Best Picture, which it lost to On the Waterfront. 

Frank Sinatra sang the title song, uncredited, and you can hear it here. 

For this post, though, I want to focus on the scenery. Three Coins in the Fountain is one of those 'Hollywood on the Tiber' films from the mid-century, meaning we can escape to the beautiful scenery of Rome and not admire the work of the backdrop artists on the lot at 20th Century Fox. 

So, interspersed with screenshots from the movie, let's take a look at some of the filming locations and featured landmarks used in Three Coins in the Fountain!

Three Coins in the Fountain opens with a montage of fountains and architecture, culminating in the famous Trevi Fountain, where the three women will toss coins to make wishes for the year they live together in Rome. 

One of the fountains featured in the opening montage is the Fontana del Nettuno (the Fountain of Neptune), which features a sculpture of the god over a fountain in Rome.  

This is the Villa d'Este, which features hundreds of fountains along a romantic walkway. 

And here's Rome! 

Another shot of the Fontana del Nettuno. I love the red dress in front!

And, of course, the Trevi Fountain. 

Here's Jean Peters waiting for Maggie McNamara to arrive, with classic Roman architecture as a backdrop.

This is where the women work: the US Distribution Agency. 

And here are the Spanish Steps, or the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti. 

Getting into traffic trouble on the cobblestone roads. 

I love this shot. 

The Villa Eden is where the women live for the year.

Sprawling countrysides... one website posits that this was shot in the Dolomites. 

Maggie McNamara's character falls in love with Louis Jourdan, who's playing a prince of ill repute. He invites her to tour Venice with him, which she gladly accepts, but Dorothy McGuire tags along, too. 

We're then treated to aerial shots of Venice... 

...before the characters hop into a gondola and we see the famed Venice by more traditional means. 

More shots of Venice.

St. Mark's Basilica. 

And a charming Venetian café.

Maggie surprises Louis at a museum, because she's determined to be the kind of woman he'd fall for.

Afterwards, they take a drive out to the Colosseum. 

The Borghese Gardens.

And another Italian restaurant.

The film culminates in all the women wandering back to the Trevi Fountain and all of the men they've fallen in love with over the year arriving to woo them one more time. 

And that's a wrap on Wednesdays in Rome! I'll announce next month's adventures shortly, so stay tuned!