If you knew how much money tourists throw into the Trevi Fountain in Rome, many people would be shocked.
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| The Trevi Fountain was completed in 1762 and is 26 meters high and 50 meters wide. The name of the fountain means three streets in Italian. The three streets leading to the fountain are Via Dei Crocicchi, Via Poli, and Via Delle Muratte. |
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| Recently, the fashion house Fendi donated 2.2 million USD to restore the fountain. The project was equipped with LED lights and the marble block depicting the god of the Ocean, Health and Prosperity was restored. |
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| Tourists often toss coins into the fountain for good luck. Rome city workers use specialized equipment to collect coins, worth thousands of dollars a day in 2016. |
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| The coins are then washed, weighed, counted and given to Caritas, a Catholic non-profit organization that uses the money for a variety of charitable initiatives, including building grocery stores for the poor and providing shelter for AIDS patients. |
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| In 2005, Getty Images reported that about $600,000 a year was collected from the fountain. By 2016, that figure had doubled to $1.5 million. |
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| Thieves used to pick up coins from fountains every day until Rome's city council passed a law making it illegal. As a result, the amount of coins collected increased by 20 to 30 percent from 2010 to 2012. |
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| Coins weren’t the only things picked up from the fountain. “We also found other items like glasses, dentures and medals,” a Caritas representative told NBC News. |
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| If you ever get the chance to travel to Rome, take some spare change and drop it in Rome. While your wish may not come true, your money will go to a good cause. |
According to Dan Viet Newspaper
