Erin Way’s Trevi Fountain: Full of History and Symbolism accurately depicts the meaningful structures of the infamous Trevi Fountain. This visual text provides accurate information on the history and creation of the “Three Street” Fountain. The piece is meant for an audience that is interested in learning more about the artwork and structure of this tourist attraction in Rome, Italy. With that being said, this piece is more of a visual historical lesson rather than a comprehensive symbolic literary piece. After examining this visual text, it becomes apparent that the format, color, and text of each slide was carefully chosen to minimize the amount of distractions, and to assist in making the factual information flow. 

The simplicity of the white background behind all of the pictures allows for minimal distractions and directs focus to the images being presented. From examining the pictures, it appears that the Trevi Fountain was created from either a white stone or a light marble. There is not a whole lot of color to this structure besides the slight blue of the surrounding water allowing for the visitors to focus on every groove and curve of the architectural art piece. Viewers are able to examine the structure and details from the way a Goddess is facing to the actions or personalities of the horses. By placing the images on a white background, it parallels the simplicity of the structure minimalizing any distractions that take away from the symbolic meaning of the monumental fountain.

To furthermore represent the simplicity of the structure and eliminate any other distractions, the text is black and typed in a plain font. The font is not anything fancy such as cursive or symbols, but just legible, block print. The reader should be able to examine the pictures without feeling any temptation to read the caption. The purpose of a visual text is for the audience to pick up the meaning by examining the images rather than reading sentences and phrases. The captions included are there to provide those who are unfamiliar with the structure’s history some background information. The font and color of the text chosen was successful in displaying the simplicity of the artwork and directed the main focus to the details of the fountain.

The visual text opens up with a single image on a slide, then transitions to having two images on each slide until the last slide, where it returns to a single image. There are a plethora of reasons as to why the author may have decided to showcase the images this way. The images presented on the first and last slide are both images that were personal images photographed by the author. The remaining images all came from varying online sources. Potentially the author decided to showcase her photos each on its own slide to distinguish her work from others. Another reason there may only be one image on the first and last slides is to mark the beginning and the conclusion of the piece. The first slide resembled a cover page by having the picture centered, taking up most of the page, with the title of the piece located underneath. In a way, the last image created a parallel with the first slide in that they had the same format; a large image taking up most of the page with the caption centered underneath it. This parallel helps to acknowledge the reader that they have reached the end of the piece. The slides in between the first and last that held two pictures would often display images that related to one another. Each slide that contained two images did not contain two random pictures that were thrown together. The images tended to have more of a relationship or similarity than both being a part of the Trevi Fountain. For example, the fifth slide displayed two pictures of Goddesses. These pictures are similar as they both display women dressed in long white gowns, holding objects, with their views both towards the center of the page. Also, the second slide shows a long shot of the fountain, with Oceanus being the main attraction, and is then paired with a close-up shot of Oceanus to show more detail. This slide shows two different pictures with the same focus. Including parallel symmetry is important because it allows the readers to be able to follow along with the story more. Symmetry is more appealing to the audience for comparing images with similar figures is easier to interpret.

The position of the two goddesses on the fifth slide creates an interesting concept. The pictures are placed so that the goddesses are facing each other and towards the center of the slide. There are a few reasons as to why they may be placed this way. By examining the long shot image of the Trevi Fountain on the second slide, it appears that the Goddess Health is on the left side of the fountain and the Goddess Abundance is on the right side of the fountain. On the fifth slide the statues are placed on those corresponding sides possibly to parallel the larger view of the fountain. On the other hand, they could be positioned facing each other to represent a deeper meaning. They could be facing each other to show that they are working together to reach a common goal, such as building the aqueduct, or it could be to show comparison between the two statues. Most people read from left to right, so it may be possible that the artist of the fountain wanted visitors to examine the Goddess Health more than the Goddess Abundance, more Goddess Health is on the left and more likely to be the first part the viewers naturally examine. It is possible he found that the Goddess Health had more of an importance than the Goddess Abundance.

As the presentation continues the photos become more detailed and have more meaning. The visual text opens up with a picture of the whole entire fountain, and then examines the fountain structure by structure. The presentation follows an order of images first by portraying a larger picture of the fountain, then specifically an image of Oceanus, then each horse individually, and then returning to the larger picture of the whole scene. This type of organization begins with a general, more broad image and then moves on to look at the details individually to hopefully make the visual meaning more comprehensible for the readers. This visual text also takes a sort of chronological approach. The bulk of the presentation consists of historical facts and maintains a focus in the past. However, the end of this piece consists of an image that displays more of a modern day “touristic” picture of wishing for a future revisit to the city of Rome. The Trevi Fountain is famous for the superstitious throwing of the penny and wishful thinking of a return trip to the beautiful country of Italy. This photograph seamlessly closes out the piece for it is personal and implies that there is more to this story that has yet to have been written.

The formatting and presentation of the Trevi Fountain was shown in such a way that it resembled the simplicity and the structure of the fountain itself. The visual text was short and to the point allowing for the reader to obtain meaningful and simple information on a historical feature. The organization allowed for the reader to easily understand the information presented and create contextual meaning from the visual images. In Trevi Fountain: Full of History and Symbolism, it is apparent that the author made careful decisions of the color, text, and format of the slides to help make the message clear and minimally distracting.
