The amount of money tourists throw into the Trevi Fountain is staggering
Tossing a coin over your shoulder and into the Trevi Fountain is as quintessential a part of the Italian holiday experience as getting stomach cramps from too much pasta and gelato, or spending 40 minutes trying to figure out where you are in Venice.
But did you have any idea how much tourist’s throw into Rome’s most popular baroque fountain? Well, it turns out all those coins add up together to a small fortune.
NBC News estimates tourists threw a combined $2 million into the fountain in 2016, with the money collected by Rome’s city council workers at the end of each day. The money is clean, weighed, counted and sent to Caritas, a Catholic non-profit that supports various causes including health, disaster relief and ending poverty.
Rome’s city council recently passed a law deeming it illegal for thieves to take coins for the fountain and Caritas said this has led to a 20 to 30 per cent spike in its takings.
And it’s not just coins that make their way into the fountain.
"Among the coins often we find other objects, including glasses, religious medals, and even a couple of dentures," the Caritas spokesperson told NBC News.
So, there you have it! Did you imagine $2 million would pass through the fountain in just one year? Have you ever been to Italy, and if so how did you find it?