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The stone rendering of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of
water god Oceanus glowed with new high-tech lighting after the
most drastic clean-up in its more than 250-year history.
Marking the end of an aqueduct said to have carried "Virgin
Water" to ancient Rome, the fountain now boasts fresh pumps and
a pigeon deterrent system following a 2.2 million-euro ($2.4
million) facelift.
The work, sponsored by fashion house Fendi, began in 2014, some
25 years after the last major restoration, amid concern over
stone laurel leaves tumbling from the facade.
"We heard two years ago just by chance that the fountain was
losing pieces and we immediately called the Rome government,"
Fendi Chief Executive Pietro Beccari said.
Transparent barriers around the basin and a footbridge that had
allowed visitors to observe restorers at work were removed,
returning the scene of screen siren Anita Ekberg's late night
dip in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita to its former glory.
Tourists in the piazza, named after the three roads ("tre vie")
that once met there, waited to throw a coin into the
newly-crystalline water in homage to the tradition that doing so
guarantees the thrower a return trip to the Italian capital.
"It's in the movies and it's beautiful, especially now that it's
been all cleaned," said Hannah Cowley, 33, a nurse on her
honeymoon from Australia.
"I've been watching it on (a live online camera) and hoping and
hoping and hoping that it would be ready while we are here."
Known for its luxurious furs and Baguette handbags, Fendi is one
of many private firms that have poured money into monuments
across the country as a three-year recession hit state coffers.
The company has also paid to restore Rome's "Four Fountains" and
the Fascist-era "Square Colosseum".
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini has called for more public
and private investment in Italy's heritage, and introduced tax
cuts of up to 65 percent for these donations.
Elsewhere in the Eternal City, luxury shoemaker Tod's is
completing a restoration of the Colosseum, jeweler Bulgari is
overhauling the Spanish Steps and Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov
has pledged to restore an ancient basilica in Rome's forum.
(Additional reporting by Hanna Rantala; editing by Ralph
Boulton)
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