Tourists wanted after skinny-dip at Rome monument
The Altare della Patria in Rome houses Italy’s “tomb of the unknown soldier,” a type of monument that is usually hallowed and solemn ground.
But a couple of tourists who recently visited the memorial decided to strip down and bathe in the fountain in front of it. Footage of the incident, published this week on an Italian blog’s YouTube page, shows two men playfully wading into the fountain in their underwear. They pose for a few photos, then one of them drops his pants completely, smiling and holding his fingers up in peace signs while his boxer shorts hang at his knees.
The video has apparently caught the attention of the Italian government and Rome’s local police, who are now looking for the men. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of the farright League party said on Twitter that he “will know how to educate these idiots if they are caught.”
“Italy is not their home bathroom,” he said.
Italian police said the behavior was “illegal and outrageous” and that the perpetrators are not Italians, but “native English speakers.”
Luca Bergamo, the deputy mayor of Rome, said the tourists’ decision to skinnydip in the fountain “offends each of us, the memory of our country and the fallen, to whom the monument is dedicated,” the BBC reported. “We are faced with a behavior that denotes stupidity and ignorance, lack of respect for the history of Rome and Italy.”
Police said the two bathers could face a fine of at least $460.
Rome’s many fountains are often featured as the backdrop for films, such as the Trevi Fountain in “La Dolce Vita, and have become tourist attractions.
The Guardian reported that Rome implemented a new fine system last year for people caught eating by the Trevi Fountain — or swimming in it.