Legend has it that if you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome, but few people pay attention to the 'fate' of those coins.
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The Trevi Fountain is a must-see when traveling to Rome (Italy), one of the most visited cities in the world with 21 million tourists/year. The Trevi Fountain was inaugurated in 1762, leaning against the side of the Palazzo Poli palace in the center of Rome. The work features a statue of Triton, son of the sea god Poseidon, driving the shell chariot of the ocean god Oceanus, depicting the theme of taming the water. (Source: Sophisticated Travel) |
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The structure also featured in the most famous scene in Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita , which brought Italian cinema to the world by winning the Palme d’Or at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar. In the film, American movie star Sylvia (played by actress Anita Ekberg) wades into the fountain after midnight, beckoning Marcello Mastroianni, a reporter who specializes in hunting sensitive and sensational news, to wade into the fountain with her. However, the fountain is now forbidden to collect coins and wade inside. Violators will be punished. (Source: Twitter) |
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For hundreds of years, when coming to Rome, tourists flocked to the fountain to throw coins as a long-standing ritual. According to legend, if you use your right hand to throw a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain, you will return to Rome. Later, people used this method to make personal wishes. (Source: thegroundtruth.blog) |
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| Tourist Carola from Chile said she came here to toss the coin because she wanted to return to Rome and pray to find true love. Meanwhile, Yuting, a tourist from China shared: "I was told that if I toss two coins, my wish will come true. That's why I did it." In the photo, Carola throws a coin into the Trevi Fountain. (Source: Reuters) |
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| The coins that tourists toss here carry wishes for love, health or a chance to return to the Eternal City. However, few people know that these coins bring practical help to people that tourists will never know. In the photo, coins are collected from the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy. (Source: Reuters) |
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| Today, to avoid waste, those prayer coins have a special mission. They are scooped up and taken to the headquarters of the global Catholic charity Caritas in Rome, where they count buckets of coins and use them to fund food banks, soup kitchens and social welfare projects. Here, environmental workers Alexio Cola and Claudio Cubeta collect coins at the Trevi Fountain. (Source: Reuters) |
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| To make visitors aware of this meaningful activity, signs have been installed around the fountain to inform them about the “harvest” of the coins and their intended use. In 2022, Caritas collected 1.4 million euros from the Trevi Fountain. This figure is expected to be even higher in 2023. (Source: Reuters) |
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| ACEA environmental sanitation manager Francesco Prisco said four workers collect coins twice a week. The fountain is drained for cleaning twice a month. “The collection and cleaning operations are done as quickly as possible to minimize the downtime of the fountain,” Prisco said. Pictured, an environmental worker collects coins. (Source: Reuters) |
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| In addition to coins, workers have also recovered jewelry, dentures, religious medals and even umbilical cords from newborn babies. Items that can be reused or recycled, such as jewelry, will be donated to charity. (Source: Reuters) |
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| Once the coins are swept into a neat line, they are sucked up with a hose and taken to the Caritas office, where volunteers from the organization spread them out on a large table to be dried and sorted. Here, 63-year-old volunteer Enrico Chiolini sorts and dries a bucket of coins at the Caritas office in Rome. (Source: Reuters) |
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| Once classified and counted, the money will be used to support people in difficult circumstances. Specifically, near Rome's main train station, there is a Caritas supermarket (called Emporium), which provides food for poor people to buy with tokens on the card. In the photo, a bread stall in the Emporium. (Source: Reuters) |
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| Caritas volunteer Simonetta Lanzi breaks down cheese at Emporium, a supermarket funded by proceeds from the Trevi Fountain. (Source: Reuters) |
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According to Domenico, a resident of Rome, he used to be a blacksmith but was unemployed. His arthritis made it difficult for him to find new work. Fortunately, there are places like the Emporium. (Source: Reuters) |
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Another man, Luigi, shared: “I was a construction worker and also the owner of a company providing video surveillance systems before I became unemployed. Places like the Emporium provide practical help.” Pictured, a trolley filled with essential food at the Caritas Emporium. (Source: Reuters) |
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| Day and night, crowds of tourists gather around the Trevi Fountain to pose for photos and toss coins. The coins carry both their wishes and a special mission. Yula Cole, a tourist from Brazil, said she came here hoping her wish would come true. “I was told that this coin will not only stay in the fountain but also help people in need. I pray for my wish and hope that this money will also help make other people’s wishes come true,” Cole said. (Source: AFP/Getty Images) |
(according to Al Jazeera)
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