If you’ve been to Rome, you’ve likely seen the Trevi Fountain. It is a magnificent attraction, with its depiction of Neptune and sea horses and other sea creatures atop craggy rocks. When we visited Rome during a very hot summer some years ago, the Trevi Fountain was a delightful place to sit, enjoy the spray of the cool water, and appreciate the beauty while taking a break from sightseeing.
Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain is badly in need of repair. Earlier this year, some pieces of the 250-year-old fountain — commissioned by one of those civic-minded Popes, Clement XII — broke off. Fortunately, an Italian mineral water company, Acqua Claudia, has agreed to foot the $250,000 cost of the immediately needed restorations. Whether funding will be located for the more long-term repair work on the fountain that is desperately needed is another question.
The condition of the Trevi Fountain is symptomatic of a larger problem in countries with significant cultural sites. Italy, Greece, and Spain, to name just a few, are terribly cash-strapped. It’s hard to believe that such countries, which reap huge economic benefits from tourism, would neglect the sites that attract those tourists in the first place, but paying to maintain crumbling monuments, old buildings, fountains, and churches, is pushing budgets to the limit.
I hope that other companies step up, as Acqua Claudia has, to help the Italian government maintain Italy’s many irreplaceable architectural and artistic landmarks. Generations to come should have the chance to see the Trevi Fountain in all its glory, rather than a heap of dust and rubble.
Maybe they should use the hundreds of thousands of euros that is thrown into the fountain each year and repair it. That’s a cheap solution! (Even though I heard they use it to help feed the poor…)
LikeLike
wow this is spectacular! I love your blog… xxx Cat
LikeLike
YERP PRIVATIZE MONUMENTS< PRIVATIZE LEGACY< PRIVATIZE HISTORY
ROMNEY 2012
LikeLike
I recall tossing a few lire (apparently the plural of lira) in the fountain during a family vacation in the summer of 2000. I believe euros came out a couple of years later.
Where are the Medici these days?
LikeLike
We stayed at the Hotel Fontana (the front door of which opens onto the fountain) last summer. It was a great location for getting around Rome (mostly on foot)! It would be a shame to see it disappear.
LikeLike
I have just returned from Angkor Wat and sadly I feel that this too will be damaged beyond repair if something is not done soon. People are allowed to clamber all over it. Beautiful place though. Thanks for posting and sharing your thoughts and the image. Greetings from Thailand. K
LikeLike