Three Hands in the Fountain Three Hands in the Fountain Three Hands in the Fountain is a 1997 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the ninth book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome between August and October, AD 73, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial agent. The title alludes to the song "Three Coins in the Fountain" as well as to the macabre discovery which triggers Falco's investigation. Falco arrives home in Rome with Helena Justina and Julia Junilla Laeitana, his new baby daughter, and barely have time to settle in before being subjected to a
Fountain of Neptune, Rome reduced dependence on urban fountains for drinking and washing purposes but increased their visual and political importance, especially following the creation of the Italian state with Rome as its capital after 1870. The fountain as it exists today was finally completed in 1878 by Antonio della Bitta, who added the imposing sculpture of "Neptune fighting with an octopus", and Gregorio Zappalà, who created the other sculptures, based on the mythological theme of the "Nereids with Cupids and walruses". This statuary was added following a competition in 1873, in order to balance that of the Moor Fountain on the south side