As visitors’ coins splash into Rome’s majestic Trevi Fountain carrying wishes for love, good health or a return to the Eternal City, they provide practical help to people the tourists will never meet. For hundreds of years, when in Rome, visitors have flocked to the fountain to make a wish, following a storied ritual. Few gave their coins a second thought. Sofia Paz, from Chile, throws a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Today, coins pile up for several days before they are fished out and taken to the Rome division of the worldwide Catholic charity Caritas, which counts the bucketfuls of change and uses them to fund a food bank, soup kitchen and welfare projects. In 2022 Caritas collected 1.4 million euros ($1.52 milli...
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Seven young activists protesting against climate change climbed into the Trevi Fountain in Rome on Sunday and poured diluted charcoal into the water to turn it black. The protesters from the "Ultima Generazione" ("Last Generation") group held up banners saying "We won't pay for fossil (fuels)," and shouted "our country is dying". Climate activists hold a banner after pouring vegetable charcoal in the Trevi Fountain water, during a demonstration against fossil fuels, in Rome, Italy May 21, 2023 in this image obtained from social media. Allesandro Penso/MAPS via REUTERS Uniformed police waded into the water to take away the activists, with many tourists filming the stunt and a few of the onlookers shouting insults at the protesters, video footage showed. In a statement, Ultima G...
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