A tourist filmed skinny-dipping in one of Rome’s most famous fountains has triggered anger at the “shameful” treatment of Italy’s cultural heritage.
A video posted online on Sunday shows a naked man clambering out of the 17th-century Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi to laughter and applause.
A local councillor, Nathalie Naim, published the clip. “Live from Piazza Navona: a naked man entertains himself in the waters of the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini, in total calm under the dismayed eyes of passersby,” she wrote.
Naim said voices heard in the video were those of the man’s drunken friends and “other hooligans besieging places in the grip of alcohol”. She described the bather as a foreigner from a northern country.
Italian media speculated that he may have been an English rugby fan visiting for the Six Nations game between Italy and England. Authorities did not confirm the man’s nationality.
The incident has reignited debate over how Rome can host millions of visitors a year while protecting its heritage. A year ago, Dutch football fans rampaged through the historical centre, damaging the recently restored Barcaccia fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps.
The nearby Trevi fountain is kept under close watch during the daytime, following a €2.2m (£1.5m) revamp funded by the fashion house Fendi.
