শুক্রবার, ১৫ জুন, ২০১২

Aid arrives for Rome's damaged Trevi fountain

UPDATE: Thursday, 11:45 a.m. ET

The estimated 200,000-euro ($250,000) cost of repairing pieces that fell from the facade of Rome's beloved Trevi fountain will be covered by an Italian mineral water company, according to a report in Britain's The Telegraph newspaper. Acqua Claudia is the benefactor.

"My company sells water from Rome and I felt that I could not remain indifferent to the needs of the Trevi Fountain, which is a symbol not only of Rome but of water," said Mauro De Dominicis, an executive from Acqua Claudia. He told the newspaper he hopes other companies will step up and contribute to a full restoration of the fountain, where visitors toss a coin into the fountain and usually make a wish.

A traditional wish is to return to Rome; now, the hope might be that the historic landmark be returned to its former glory.

The 250-year-old Baroque fountain seen in La Dolce Vita, Roman Holiday and the star of the 1954 movie Three Coins in the Fountain, has suffered damage.

According to a report in the United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper, parts of "ornate stucco reliefs have crumbled from ... Rome's baroque masterpiece, making it the latest in a series of Italian monuments to suffer damage and reigniting a row over Italy's commitment to protect its heritage."

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Workmen put up scaffolding around a section where bits of a gargoyle's head and leaves fell over the weekend above the centerpiece statues.

City officials attributed the damage to water infiltration including that from an unusual winter snowfall, the Guardian said. Italy's Green Party complained about the slowing of the flow funding to maintain monuments.

Other affected tourist sites include the Colosseum, where stone fell from a wall last year. Roman emperor Nero's palace has been closed since a roof collapsed, the Guardian said. Italy is in financial crisis, and civic funding is less plentiful.

Britain's Daily Mail said the equivalent of 3,000 euros weekly (about $3,800) is scooped from the fountain and goes to charities.

A popular reader comment on the online Mail story suggested using the money to repair the fountain. The Guardian quoted a Roman cultural official as saying one proposed maintenance-funding solution was to allow advertising on historic structures.

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