A New Zealand tourist was fined more than NZD$900 after he drunkenly jumped into Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain over the weekend.
Three visitors from New Zealand were stopped on Sunday night (local time) as they began to wade into the historic fountain in the heart of the Italian capital, CNN reports.
A spokesperson for Rome’s Capital Police said one of the tourists, a 30-year-old man, broke free from the police and jumped into the fountain.
“Alcohol was definitely involved,” they told CNN.
The man was fined 500 euros (NZD$920) and banned from visiting the landmark for life.
About a dozen tourists are fined annually for anything from putting their toes in the water to filling bottles from the fountain, Roman police said.
The Trevi Fountain, constructed 1762 as the mouth of an aqueduct, underwent a major cleaning last yea.
The city introduced a system last year intended to limit the number of visitors in front of the fountain to 400 at a time. Rome is also considering introducing a small fee to enter this access area, open from 9am to 9pm daily.
CNN said the Kiwi bypassed the controlled area to get into the water.
