Throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain is just part of what brings thousands of tourists to Rome every year. Our colleagues at 06blog.it indulged in a little irony back on April 1st, publishing a piece on the banning of throwing coins in the Trevi Fountain as an April Fool’s joke.

They’re predicting that something of the sort could come true if the continuing coin stealing from the fountain occurs; or even the latest episode when D’Artagnan, infamous coin stealer, climbed the fountain and cut his stomach with a rasor blade as part of a protest against how he has been portrayed in the media.

D’Artagnan is the nom de guerre of Roberto Cercelletta, who even finished in the New York Times for his Trevi Fountain coin stealing efforts back in 2002. In a recurring popular media piece on crime in Italy, he recently reappeared on undercover “journalism” show Le Iene along with suggestions that local Roman police officers themselves are part of the daily Trevi Fountain coin collection problem.

The joke on April 1st was to sign up to an association with the slogan “No More Coins, Much More Desires”. But now our Roman friends and blogging colleagues are actually concerned that their joke might not remain in the realms of just being funny after all, and that a real ban on tossing coins in the Trevi may take place.

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This amazing video shows the special effects of an optical illusion: the Colosseum on fire by two artists, Pio Diaz and Thyra Hilden. The video exhibition was on show for only three nights and was commissioned by Italy’s arts minister to demonstrate and reflect on the “fragility and transitory nature of manmade construction”. As you can see in the video, the Colosseum on Fire effect is a dramatic one.

It’s part of a series of exhibits called “City on Fire” which are also taking place in other famous European locations, including the Trevi Fountain also in Rome. The idea that the Colosseum could really burn to the ground might help garner support for the 23-million euro restoration project that is underway. As we already revealed though, the brand value of the Colosseum far outstrips any money required to restore it though, and Rome shows once again that its ancient monuments can also be avant garde.

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The Trevi Fountain is one of Rome ‘s most popular monuments; millions of visitors every year turn their back to the fountain and throw a coin over their shoulders into the water pool ( the legend has it that by tossing a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome). An estimated 700,000 euros are collected each year by the charity Caritas which uses the money to feed the poor. But sometimes the coins end up in the pocket of a certain D’Artagnan (named after the famous musketeer) who starts to fish the coins out of the fountain long before the arrival of the Caritas personnel!! Metropolitan police usually do not intervene because according to Italian law the coins belong to nobody and, theoretically, Mr D’Artagnan has the right to collect them!

Foto | Flickr

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I would never have had said that stealing coins from the Trevi Fountain could be as lucrative as this, but Roberto Cercelletta, our crime in Italy profile for this week, managed a full 600 euros before he was arrested. Cercelletta had gone to the Trevi Fountain at dawn to steal money, knowing it was a time when both tourists and police on the beat were unlikely to be around.

Cercelletta managed to collect what many Italians doing part time work can only dream of earning - working in Italy is difficult and unfortunately more so than indulging in Italian crime. Unfortunately, the money was actually destined for Caritas and its charitable works in Rome, including family housing projects, a hostel and a market stall for retirees. Here’s hoping Cercelletta pays it all back, with interest.

Photo | Flickr

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Located in the historic heart of Rome, just a stone’s throw away from Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna and the famous Trevi Fountain, the luxury hotel De La Minerve offers the best one can get in the eternal city. With more than 135 rooms, the hotel - established in the 18th century - has been designed for ultimate comfort and its stylish restaurant (called La Cesta) offers a wide range of superb dishes. Many celebrities have over the years sojourned here. The place with its amazing frescoes, elegant carpets, marble pillars, statues by Rinaldo Rinaldi, one of Canova’s most talented pupils, and exquisite fire place provides guests with the finest luxury accommodation one can ever hope to get in Rome or in any other European capital.

Continue reading: Five star hotels in Rome: Hotel de La Minerve, near Piazza Navona

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Rome has always been considered romantic; whether it be attributed to scenes of beautiful Italian gentleman Marcello Mastroianni in La Dolce Vita, the lamp-post of padlocks, or vague ideas of chequered tablecloths in Italian trattorie, the eternal city has always held a certain fascination for the lovers of the world.

Now a new guide is out on “101 places in Rome where you can fall in love”, written by Valeria Arnaldi and published by Newton Compton. If you’re looking for tips on proposing to your loved one, or where to get married in Rome, this could have a few gems for you.

From more obvious choices such as the Trevi Fountain or the church of San Valentino, to watching the stars from Rome’s rooftops or going to the Villa Celimontana, this is your complete guide to falling in love in Rome. The guide is from the same publishers of “101 things to do in Rome once in your life” and may inspire some of you to popping the question in Rome.

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The legend has it that by throwing a coin over your shoulder and into the Trevi fountain you will safely return to Rome, but this time something went wrong and a tourist from Shanghai along with his coin saw his precious bracelet disappear into the water. It was a jade bracelet which had belonged to his noble family for generations. At this point the poor man panicked and started to cry blue murder all over the place; a few minutes later several police cars turned up and helped the man to retrieve the precious bracelet from the water.

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In a bizarre gesture of art meets art, a vandal has defaced the side of Richard Meier’s cover building to the Ara Pacis in Rome. In a twist though, the vandal has not just used any old graffiti but has made almost a protest across the white facade in a similar act to that once done on the Trevi Fountain vandalism.

The white facade of the Ara Pacis building was decorated with red and green, creating the Italian flag, with the vandal then placing a toilet boil underneath, indicating their thoughts on the external building surrounding the Rome monument.

The vandalism has sparked interest though, with futuristic-anachronistic artist Graziano Cecchini commenting: “To me it’s a beautiful thing; a high gesture in this city where nothing ever moves. It breaks up that great whiteness; I saw it from afar and I like it. Everyone blames Meier but he is not to blame; he did his job. The responsibility is that of who commissioned it, instead of taking the Ara Pacis to San Lorenzo in Lucina in a lovely plexiglass case.

Cecchini is not challenging the ownership of the work, but is taking the opportunity to criticise Rome’s mayor, Gianni Alemanno: “A year ago the new governors in the city had announced during their election campaign some intervention on the Ara Pacis, but they did nothing. Somebody has decided to remind them.” Or the mayor hadn’t forgotten, but the money went elsewhere…

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Federico Fellini’s “La dolce vita” (the sweet life) is celebrating its 50th birthday with celebrations stretching around the world and across the months for this famous, historic Italian film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be holding a “dolce vita” exhibition early next year, while the town of Rimini has already hosted a convention on the film.

The film, famous for its scene of Enita Ekberg in the Trevi fountain, and for inventing the name ‘paparazzo’, will likely be well celebrated around the world. History goes that Fellini conceived his film in 1958, shot it in 1959 with a subsequent premiere in 1960. The ‘dolce vita’ story is one of lust, boredom, envy, luxurious degradation and the extreme, strangely civilised, anarchy of the upper classes.

Here in Italy you can see the exhibition of Fellini’s book collection in Rimini until April 2009. For more Fellini and La Dolce Vita events, look out in the coming months for screenings and more exhibitions.

Source | Reuters

Photo | Flickr

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A 31-year-old man was recently fined for swimming in the Trevi Fountain in Rome. If he was attempting a reproduction of Anita Ekberg in the famous scene from “La Dolce Vita”, he probably missed the mark.

The man entered the water of the Trevi Fountain, before enacting a swimming race and then dived into the larger pool at the foot of the fountain. A few years ago, entering the water got you a 15,000 lire fine which equates to about 300 euros today.

The fine received by this man has not been published, but the carabinieri were called by tourist onlookers, most likely surprised to see such a foolish act at Rome’s famous tourist location.

News on Il Messagero, La Voce, MyOpenCity.

Photo | rayced.

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The most beautiful and important fountain in Rome is also one of the most romantic, and we all know the legend of the Trevi Fountain: making a wish by throwing a coin over your shoulder will bring you back to Rome.

But the Fontana di Trevi, or Trevi Fountain, hides other myths and legends in Rome, developed in over two hundred years of history (the fountain was inaugurated in 1761). One legend regards Nicola Salvi, who is the architect behind the fountain’s design, and a large vase that dresses a corner of the fountain on via della Stamperia.

The story goes that the architect didn’t get along with a barber in the area, who continued to criticise the fountain and the work. In theory, Salvi put the vase right in front of the Barber shop so the barber could no longer look at the construction. The vase was renamed after an ace of playing cards, “asso di coppe”, due to its similar form.

Continue reading: Romes legends: Trevi Fountain coins and lovers in Rome

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Some time ago we had the chance to talk about the Padlocks of love at Ponte Milvio and the Trevi fountain in Rome, but now a new ‘ shrine ‘ devoted to love has popped up just a few blocks away; in fact a whole wall of Bar dell’Orologio has been literally covered up with love post-it notes.

Something quite similar happened, if I am not wrong, at the Jazz Café where people used to stick love notes to the chandelier, but here the number of these post-it notes is growing really fast; they will soon outnumber the famous love padlocks. To be truthful the Romans seem to prefer these lovely notes to those ugly padlocks which are, to be blunt, a real eyesore. This time the only drawback is that paper will eventually crumble to dust and blow away!

Continue reading: Love in Rome: mash notes at Bar dell'Orologio

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