It’s a ritual when going to Rome: throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain and make a wish. Every year, millions of tourists do it and we know where the money goes.
This summer, Rome once again welcomed millions of visitors to its cobbled streets. It must be said that the Eternal City, which the adage says is only as good as Paris and vice versa, has solid assets. Between the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, the Forum and even the Villa Borghese, there are a thousand things to see. And you obviously have to stop at the legendary Trevi Fountain; surrounded by crowds day and night…
It is into the basin of this sublime fountain, the largest in Rome and which is partly backed by the Palazzo Poli, that coins from all the world’s currencies are thrown each year by making a wish. A ritual for tourists of the same type as the one who wants to hang a lovers’ padlock on a Paris bridge… But what happens to these pieces over time? Workers empty the basin every Monday and Friday, every week, from 8 a.m. and for approximately two hours.
Equipped with a type of aquatic vacuum cleaner as well as special shovels with a large bin which make it easier to collect the pieces left in the corners of the vast pool dating from the 18th century, the workers can collect around 3000 euros per day! The municipality estimates that it draws between 1 million and 1.5 million euros per year from the fountain basin.
And what happens to this money? The city does not collect it but distributes it. The sum is thus donated to the Catholic charity Caritas. Its ambition is to “serve the poor and promote charity and justice throughout the world.” She thus takes care of using the money from the Trevi Fountain to help the most deprived people who live in Rome.
So, even if your wish does not come true, you will at least have participated in a good deed. And then, you can always go and console yourself for not seeing your wish come true by going to devour a charcuterie board in Trastevere or by tasting pasta near Pigneto.
