ITALY PALACE FOR SALE " SENSATIONAL BUY IN ROME ! " CRIED 
THE QUARTER-PAGE AD IN ROME'S DAILY AMERICAN . " TREVI PALACE 
FOR SALE . " UNDER A PICTURE OF THE FOUNTAIN OF 
TREVI (WHICH WAS NOT ON SALE) WERE SPELLED OUT THE PALACE'S 
MORE OBVIOUS ASSETS : " INVALUABLE PUBLICITY, CENTRAL HEATING, PLENTY OF 
WATER . " THE ITALIAN PRESS WAS OUTRAGED . " WHY 
NOT ST . PETER'S BASILICA ! " SNAPPED THE PAESE SERA 
. GRUMBLED IL GIORNALE D'ITALIA : " IT'S LIKE PUTTING THE 
EIFFEL TOWER UP FOR AUCTION . " ROMANS CONJURED UP TERRIBLE 
VISIONS OF NEON SIGNS WINKING OVER THE COLOSSAL MARBLE STATUES OF 
NEPTUNE AND HIS TRITONS . FOR 69 YEARS, THE PALACE WAS 
OCCUPIED BY ROME'S VITAL STATISTICS BUREAU . THEN TWO BUILDERS, MARIO 
TUDINI AND ACHILLE TALENTI, GOT THE PALACE IN 1939 IN PAYMENT 
FOR A CONSTRUCTION JOB . THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO 
A THING WITH IT . " FOR MOST OF 24 YEARS, 
THIS BUILDING HAS STOOD EMPTY, / SAID TUDINI . " IT'S 
MAGNIFICENT, BUT AS AN INVESTMENT IT HAS BEEN A POOR DEAL 
. I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY ; WE'RE GOING TO 
SELL . " PRICE ? ABOUT $2,000,000 . BUYERS ? " 
BANKERS, MOVIEMAKERS, HOTEL OWNERS, ANYBODY . " THE PALACE ITSELF, PROPERLY 
KNOWN AS THE PALAZZO POLI, HOLDS NO ART TREASURES ; BUT 
ITS SOUTH SIDE FORMS A BACKDROP FOR TREVI FOUNTAIN, CONCEIVED IN 
1630 BY ARCHITECT GIOVANNI BERNINI, AND BUILT MORE THAN 100 YEARS 
LATER, CHIEFLY BY NICOLA SALVI . HOLLYWOOD ADDED TO THE FOUNTAIN'S 
FAME WITH ITS THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN, AND ROME'S MOIVIEMAKERS 
DID THEIR BIT BY DUNKING ANITA EKBERG IN ITS GREAT MARBLE 
BASIN FOR A HIGHVOLTAGE, LOW-DECOLLETAGE SCENE IN LA DOLCE VITA . 
IN THE END, THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT TOOK A HAND . TUDINI 
AND TALENTI CAN STILL SELL THE PALACE, BUT IF THE GOVERNMENT 
CONSIDERS THE BUYER UNSUITABLE, IT HAS 60 DAYS TO MATCH THE 
PRICE AND RETAIN CONTROL OF WHAT THE OFFICIAL STATEMENT CALLED " 
ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPRESSIONS OF THE ROMAN BAROQUE PERIOD 
. " AND NO MATTER WHO GETS THE PALACE THE CITY 
OF ROME WILL KEEP THE COINS THAT TRAVELERS TOSS OVER THEIR 
SHOULDERS INTO THE FOUNTAIN TO ASSURE THEMSELVES OF A RETURN TRIP 
