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WATER

Rome’s Trevi Fountain springs back to life

Hundreds of tourists converged on the Trevi Fountain in Rome on Tuesday evening to witness it gush once again with water after a €2 million makeover paid for by the fashion house, Fendi.

Rome's Trevi Fountain springs back to life
Rome's Trevi Fountain back to its full glory. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

They waited for hours for the fountain, made famous by a scene in Federico Fellini's ‘La Dolce Vita’ in which the late Anita Ekberg wades through its emerald waters, to spring back to life, whiling away the time by taking photos with their iPads and smartphones gripped onto selfie-sticks.

“It’s so beautiful,” Laney Farrell, an Australian who daringly perched herself on some scaffolding outside a nearby building to get a better view, told The Local.

“We’re only here for two days and it was by chance we came by today and were told the water was being turned back on – it’s been worth the wait. Rome is an amazing place, we love all the history.”

Tourists have spent the past 17 months catching glimpses of bits of the nearly 300-year-old monument from a special walkway put over the fountain while repair work was carried out.

The basin was drained with water, taking away the opportunity for tourists to throw a coin in over their shoulder – a tradition which is said to ensure a return to the Eternal City.

“I’ll definitely try and throw a coin in, if I can get through the crowd!” Laurie, from the US, said.

“This is my first time to Rome and we leave tomorrow, so I’m very happy to see it and will definitely wish for a return – as well as happiness and good health.”

But Italians were notably absent from the throng.

“Romans rarely come into the centre,” the owner of the nearby Al Picchio restaurant said.

“It’s too much hassle to park and too crowded, but some might come by when it’s quieter to take a look – they'll especially be interested to see such a feat for Italy – a job done in less than 18 months.”

Calogero, originally from Catania, said he popped by because his office is nearby.

“We’re here to steal the coins,” he joked, referring to the late Roberto Cercellata, the Italian who famously raided the fountain of its coins for 34 years.

Cercelletta, better known as D'Artagnan, scooped them up with a long, sword-like magnet. He worked six days a week, under early morning darkness, sometimes raking in almost €1,000 a day.

Police turned a blind eye until the Italian media reported that the Trevi's treasure was being fleeced instead of being used for what it was intended: charity.

That put paid to Cercellata's early morning raids, and he was arrested in 2002. He died at his home in the capital in late 2013.

The fountain, commissioned by Pope Clement XII in 1730, is the end point of one of the aqueducts that supplied ancient Rome with water and was last restored 23 years ago.

The Acqua Vergine runs for a total of 20 kilometres and ends up in the fountain, where tourists can drink it from a special tap tucked away at one side of the monument.

Legend has it the water source was discovered in 19BC by thirsty Roman soldiers guided to the site by a young virgin – hence the name, Virgin Waters.

The tradition of throwing coins into the fountain was made famous by Frank Sinatra's rendition of 'Three Coins in the Fountain' in the 1954 romantic comedy film of the same name.

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PROTESTS

Thousands protest in Rome against fascist groups after green pass riots

An estimated 200,000 people descended on Rome on Saturday to call for a ban on fascist-inspired groups, after protests over Italy's health pass system last weekend degenerated into riots.

A general view shows people attending an anti-fascist rally called by Italian Labour unions CGIL, CISL and UIL at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome
People attend an anti-fascist rally called by Italian Labour unions CGIL, CISL and UIL at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome on October 16th, 2021. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Carrying placards reading “Fascism: Never Again”, the protesters in Piazza San Giovanni — a square historically associated with the left — called for a ban on openly neofascist group Forza Nuova (FN).

FN leaders were among those arrested after the Rome headquarters of the CGIL trade union — Italy’s oldest — was stormed on October 9th during clashes outside parliament and in the historic centre.

Analysis: What’s behind Italy’s anti-vax protests and neo-fascist violence?

A man holds a placard reading "yes to the vaccine" during an anti-fascist rally at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome

A man holds a placard reading “yes to the vaccine” during an anti-fascist rally at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome on October 16th, 2021. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

“This is not just a retort to fascist ‘squadrismo’,” CGIL secretary general Maurizio Landini said, using a word used to refer to the fascist militias that began operating after World War I.

IN PICTURES: Demonstrators and far right clash with police in Rome after green pass protest

“This piazza also represents all those in Italy who want to change the country, who want to close the door on political violence,” he told the gathered crowds.

Last weekend’s riots followed a peaceful protest against the extension to all workplaces of Italy’s “Green Pass”, which shows proof of vaccination, a negative Covid-19 test or recent recovery from the virus.

The violence has focused attention on the country’s fascist legacy.

Saturday’s demonstration was attended by some 200,000 people, said organisers, with 800 coaches and 10 trains laid on to bring people to the capital for the event.

Workers from the Italian Labour Union (UIL) react during an anti-fascist rally in Rome

Workers from the Italian Labour Union (UIL) react during an anti-fascist rally in Rome on October 16th, 2021. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

It coincided with the 78th anniversary of the Nazi raid on the Jewish Ghetto in Rome.

Over 1,000 Jews, including 200 children, were rounded up at dawn on October 16th, 1943, and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Maurizio Landini (C) delivers a speech as Italian priest Don Luigi Ciotti (R) looks on

General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Maurizio Landini (C) delivers a speech as Italian priest Don Luigi Ciotti (R) looks on during the anti-fascist rally in Rome. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

“Neofascist groups have to be shut down, right now. But that has to be just the start: we need an antifascist education in schools,” university student Margherita Sardi told AFP.

READ ALSO: Covid green pass: How are people in Italy reacting to the new law for workplaces?

The centre-left Democratic Party, which has led the calls for FN to be banned, said its petition calling on parliament to do so had gathered 100,000 signatures.

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