According to legend, as the River Tiber flooded in 1598, water carried a small boat into the Piazza di Spagna.

[1] The fountain is decorated with the papal coat of arms of the Barberini family as a reminder of Pope Urban VIII's ancestry.

On May 15, 2007 four drunken tourists damaged the monumental fountain with a large screwdriver inflicting a deep scratch, with the consequent detachment of a significant part of the papal coat of arms.

A few weeks after the unveiling, the fountain was damaged on 19 February 2015 by a group of Dutch football hooligans, who were in Rome to support Rotterdam-based club Feyenoord in a Europa League match against A.S. Roma.

The group, allegedly under the influence of alcohol and drugs,[3] stepped into the fountain and threw bottles and rubbish in it before clashing with the police.