Rome: Trevi fountain runs red following corruption protest

Graziano Cecchini, an Italian activist, has poured red dye into the iconic Trevi Fountain, 10 years after pulling the same stunt.

Cecchini insisted that the dye would not harm the fountain and was intended just as a protest, against “corruption and filth”.

Cecchini climbed onto the side of the fountain, according to witnesses, to pour in the red dye, turning the pool into a murky red lake. Police proceeded to escort him from the scene.

The protest was “cry that Rome isn’t dead, that it’s alive and ready to return to be the capital of art, life and Reneissance”, Cecchini said in a protest.

The activist was also responsible for sending thousands of coloured plastic balls down Rome’s Spanish steps back in 2008.

“Actions like this display ignorance and a total lack of civic sense”, said the deputy mayor, Luca Bergamo.

By the afternoon, authorities had turned off the hydraulics of the fountain and drained it to prevent any damage.

During Cecchini’s similar stunt a few years ago, a right-wing group claimed responsibility in protest of the cost of organizing the Rome Film Festival. In that case, the red dye referred to the red carpet of the film festival.