The insane amount of money being thrown into Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain – and where it all goes

The Trevi Fountain is one of the most popular and Instagrammable tourist spots in the world.

Mostly during the summer you will find hordes of tourists surrounding the 18th century masterpiece. Dolce Vita moment (just don’t go in the water or you’ll be fined).

Legend has it that if you adhere to a very specific tradition—specifically using your right hand to throw a coin over your left shoulder—then you will return to Rome at some point in your life.

Legend has it that if you adhere to a very specific tradition—specifically using your right hand to throw a coin over your left shoulder—then you will return to Rome at some point in your life.

This tradition has continued for hundreds of years with visitors making a wish before throwing a coin into the fountain.

Their money is collected twice a week with signs around the fountain explaining that the change will go to charity.

The coin extraction is a spectacle, Reuters reports, with workers from regional utility ACEA balancing on the edge of the vast baroque fountain, using long brooms and suction hoses.

“The collection and cleaning operations are carried out as quickly as possible to try to reduce the downtime of the fountain,” said Francesco Prisco, a manager at ACEA.

After the coins are swept in a long line by a long broom, they are vacuumed up by hoses and taken to the Caritas office, where they are laid out on a large table to dry.

The coins are then given to Caritas, a non-profit organization run by the Catholic Church. She uses the money to fund a food bank, a soup kitchen and welfare projects in Rome.

So how much is being thrown into the 300-year-old fountain? Reuters reported that in 2022 Caritas raised 1.4 million euros (US$1.5 million) from water and expects to have raised even more in 2023.

Each year, around 21 million tourists visit Rome, with many making a stop at the Trevi Fountain.

The iconic tourist attraction was completed in 1762 and covers one side of the Palazzo Poli in central Rome with its statues of Tritons driving the shell chariot of the god Ocean, illustrating the theme of taming the waters.

It’s where Italian film director Federico Fellini set the famous “La Dolce Vita” scene, with Anita Ekberg entering the fountain after midnight and beckoning Marcello Mastroianni to join her.

Unfortunately, you can’t repeat the moment with tourists paying a hefty fee to enter its waters.

Last year, two Austrians were fined 450 euros (US$497) after swimming in the fountain’s waters. They were also banned for 48 hours from entering certain areas of the city.