This footage shows a man in a toga dancing in Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain before being grabbed by a cop and slapped with a 550 EUR fine under measures designed to stop tourists behaving badly.
The tough new rules that include a ban on eating around historical monuments and keeping people moving instead of allowing them to stop for selfies is backed up by huge fines both for the tourists and the guides responsible for them.
The latest incident captured on CCTV shows the identified tourist dressed in a Roman toga climbing into the Fountain and behaving as if he is giving a speech to the masses that are surrounding the fountain.
Although his identity was not revealed, he was reportedly a 38-year-old Italian carrying out a protest in support of businessmen who were the victims of the Camorra, and demanded the government do more to help fight crime.
The mayoress, Virginia Raggi, said the city now had a zero tolerance approach to what she described as”unacceptable behaviour”.
When he refused to come out from the Fountain, a policeman is seen wading inside and then escorting the man to the side of the Fountain where he was grabbed and arrested. The man was later given a €550 fine slapped with a “daspo” which is a temporary ban on returning to the area.
Speaking on her Facebook page she said: “Our monuments must be respected and Rome’s historic fountains are not swimming pools.”
The mayoress added that everybody could expect the same treatment if they disrespected the city’s cultural heritage, even though the latest incident shows at least in this case there has not been enough to stop swimming in fountains.
The measures also included diverting people away from overcrowded regions and only a few days ago the Trevi Fountain was closed to visitors because of an unprecedented number of tourists that wanted to see it in order to throw their coins in for good luck.
In its travel advice, the British Embassy has even warned tourists against bathing in fountains in Rome in support of the local governments crackdown.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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