Eight-person fight ensues after tourists battle for best spot in front of Roman monument

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Two tourists’ quest for a perfect selfie has caused a brawl at Rome’s Trevi fountain.



Fighting broke out after a 19-year-old woman from the Netherlands and a 44-year-old Italian-American woman wanted to take selfies at a prime spot in front of the monument at the same time.

The incident happened on Wednesday evening, a time of day when the light makes the fountain a perfect backdrop.

What started as an exchange of words between the women became a physical fight and then their respective family members joined in.

Neither of the women wanted to give way over the selfie spot, the newspaper La Repubblica reported. Eight people ended up becoming involved in the fight in front of startled onlookers.

Two police officers managed to quell the fight, but the truce lasted only a few minutes, and two more officers had to be called in to finally end it.

The tourists only sustained bruises but were charged over violence.

The Trevi fountain, designed by the architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762, attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Patrols at the site were increased after a £1.4m facelift in 2015.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita. Photograph: Allstar/Pathé

Last year, Rome pledged to crack down on bad behaviour involving the city’s fountains, imposing fines of up to €240 (£215) for people caught snacking or camping on the fountains’ pedestals, dipping their feet in the water or going for a swim.

Residents are particularly irked by tourists who try to recreate the scene from Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita, in which the late Swedish actor Anita Ekberg wades into the fountain.