Outrage at trespassing tourist who climbs into Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain to fill up water bottle
The woman claimed to be unaware of the signs prohibiting her from entering
Public Domain Pictures
A woman was filmed climbing into the iconic Trevi Fountain in Rome to fill up her water bottle, sending people into an outrage.
In the clip, the tourist is seen walking over some rocks to reach the historical landmark, as onlookers watched on in shock.
The unidentified woman ignored signs posted around the fountain, prohibiting people not to step in the water.
At the end of the now viral video, an Italian police officer approaches her.
Lex Jones, the person who filmed the video, told Storyful that as soon as she saw the outrageous scene unfolding in front of her, she knew she had to record it.
“I was just like, wow, this is crazy so I started videoing it,” she explained.
Jones said that herself and those around her were perplexed at what the woman was doing, curious as to whether she had not seen the signs.
When confronted about her actions, the trespasser did not seem to understand what she did wrong, Jones said.
The woman “kept trying to explain her side and didn't really understand why she was in trouble,” she added.
The Trevi Fountain is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, drawing in more than 1,000 people every hour.
It is a popular tradition for passers-by to throw a coin in the fountain and make a wish.
It is not the only Italian landmark to be visited by badly behaving tourists this summer.
In June, a man was caught defacing the Colosseum, using his keys to cut inscriptions into the walls.
The man scratched “Ivan + Hayley 23” into one of the bricks, which a shocked onlooker recorded and then uploaded onto YouTube.
The video, entitled “a***** tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome 6-23-23”, has over 300,000 views as of August 15.
Ivan Dimitrov, the alleged man in the video, could face up to $16,000 in fines and up to five years in prison.
TROUBLE-MAKING TOURISTS
Tourist caught in the act of defacing Rome ColloseumRedditRyan Lutz, the onlooker who captured the incident, told MailOnline: “I couldn't believe it when I saw what this jerk was doing to the brickwork.
“I'm fascinated by history and culture and here was this dumba** defacing it which is a crime and I wanted to do something about it,” Lutz said.
“I don't understand what would possess someone to do something like that and I really hope that are caught and punished.”
The Trevi fountain is sadly no stranger to inconsiderate tourists visiting it.
In August 2018, a group of men entered the fountain and proceeded to undress, frolicking around in the water while naked or nearly naked.
Two years prior, three women stripped down to their bikinis to cool down in the water.
Their actions have been seen by many Romans as disrespectful to the monument.