Cash flow problem Dry Trevi fountain installs coin pool as it prepares to charge

One of the first things American students Fiona Hastings and Olivia Nieporte did when they visited Rome for the first time was to visit the Trevi Fountain, to partake in the age-old ritual of tossing a coin over their shoulder and into the world-famous landmark.

- Angela Giuffrida

They had envisaged their coins falling into the basin of the 18th-century masterpiece as water cascaded from its elaborate sculptures.

Instead, they found it bone dry, and had to make do with throwing their money over a transparent panel and into a small pool that has been installed as the monument undergoes maintenance.

"I did chuckle to myself when I first saw it," said Nieporte, as the pair emerged from the confined space in front of the fountain crammed with tourists jostling for their chance to lob a coin which, as legend goes, guarantees a return visit to the Eternal City. But the pool didn't sully their experience.