The Trevi Fountain in Rome will be enclosed due to unruly tourists

Rome – The famous Roman fountain of Trevi will be fenced off due to unruly tourists. The measure was approved by the local council at the urging of the protest movement Five Star Movement (M5S), whose mayor Virginia Raggi has been governing the eternal city since 2016. This was reported today by the Italian press.

The barrier aims to prevent tourists from sitting on the edge of the fountain. Such a ban has been in place for a year, and the police have not been particularly successful in enforcing it. Last summer, the city police also prohibited sitting on the Spanish Steps, which rise from Piazza di Spagna and are listed as a UNESCO site.

The new regulation prohibits behaving in public places "disrespectfully or contrary to decor" and "consuming food and beverages while seated at historical, artistic, or archaeological monuments", especially at fountains and steps, wrote the AFP agency.

"I think this is a sensible solution to protect one of the most important monuments in Rome," stated Mayor Raggi. "This solution will not hide the Trevi fountain from view and will allow tourists to continue throwing coins into it, as is customary," she added. It is said that anyone who stands with their back to the fountain and tosses a coin into it will return to Rome one day.

Traditionally, the coins, which amount to up to 1.5 million euros (37.8 million CZK) annually, are given to the Catholic charity Caritas. However, the current council has been at odds with the organization over the proceeds for the past two years - preferring to use them for repairs of the city’s deteriorating infrastructure. Pope Francis arranged with the city council at the end of last year that for the next two years, the money from the fountain would again be managed by the charity.

The Trevi Fountain, in late Baroque style, was completed in 1762 according to the design of Nicola Salvi. Last October, the fountain was given new artistic lighting.

It became famous from the scene in Federico Fellini's film "La Dolce Vita." The provocative shots of the refreshing main character of the film, Anita Ekberg, with the admiring gaze of Marcello Mastroianni, are from there.