While Anita Eckberg and Marcello Mastroianni made diving into Rome’s Trevi fountain look like a grand time in Federico Fellini’s 1960 film “La Dolce Vita”, tourists are not actually allowed in the fountain.
One woman apparently didn’t get the memo last month when she traipsed into the landmark to fill up her water bottle.
“There were signs all over saying that’s not allowed,” Lex Jones told Storyful.
Jones was also checking out the fountain July 18 when he saw the woman climb into the rocky pool at the base of the fountain. He captured a video of the incident.
It shows the woman, clad in a blue shirt, white pants and sandals, scaling the edge of some of the rocky features to fill it up with water falling into the pool basins. A whistle could be heard in the background, and Jones panned to show a guard in a yellow vest coming towards the fountain.
Eventually, the guard caught up with the woman, and the video captured them talking as others stared at them. Then, the guard lead her away from the fountain. According to a Tuesday report in Business Insider, it wasn’t clear whether the tourist was arrested or fined.
“State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours,” said the outlet.
According to Turismo Roma, the Trevi is “the most famous of the Roman fountains” and is the terminal part of the Vergine aqueduct, “the only one of the ancient aqueducts continuously in use to this day.”
Pope Clement XII ordered the construction of the current fountain in front of the Palazzo Poli in 1732. It was designed and constructed by Nicola Salvi and Giuseppe Pannini. Restorations of the fountain were conducted from 1989-1991 and in 2014.
Trevi fountain is a popular tourist attraction, and there are a few legends associated with it. Per Turisma Roma, “there’s a small rectangular basin to the right, away from the fountain, with two small spouts: this is the fountain of lovers,” and “young lovers who drink at the fountain will stay in love forever and will remain forever faithful the one to the other.”
Another well-known legend calls for tourists to throw coins into the fountain. One is said to guarantee a trip back to Rome, while second and third coins are said to bring love and marriage. NBC News reported in 2017 that $1.5 million dollars in change was thrown into the fountain during 2016 and world leaders even joined together to toss coins in the fountain in 2021, according to Reuters.
However, Rome has been dealing with unruly tourists in recent years. Just last summer, Audacy reported that American tourists on scooters damaged the Spanish Steps, which have connected the church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti and the Piazza di Spagna for hundreds of years.
In 2018, new urban police regulations in Rome prohibited bathing in fountains and other improper use.
“Prohibitions and sanctions are finally regulated for anyone who decides to take a bath in one of Rome’s historic fountains or use them improperly (throwing objects, spilling liquids or substances, immersing animals, damaging them, climbing, lying down on them, placing existing conducts that are not compatible with their natural destination),” said the regulations. “Among the fountains subject to the ban are the Trevi Fountain, the Lion Fountain in Piazza del Popolo, the Barcaccia in Piazza di Spagna, the Gianicolo ‘Fontanone’ and many others provided for in the list attached to the Regulation).”
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