Rome's Trevi Fountain Runs Red

Pictured above as it happened, the event occurred two days ago, on Friday, October 19, 2007.

Peter Edidin's "Arts, Briefly" column in yesterday's New York Times reported the news as follows.

The Waters Ran Red

A man threw a bucket of red paint or dye into Rome’s Trevi Fountain on Friday, coloring the waters of the 18th-century monument bright red in front of a crowd of astonished tourists and locals, The Associated Press reported. The man escaped, leaving the fountain spouting red water. Technicians briefly shut off the water before restoring a clear flow. The monument has been a tourist hot spot since Federico Fellini’s 1960 movie “La Dolce Vita,” which featured the actress Anita Ekberg seductively splashing in the fountain’s waters [below].

The ANSA news agency reported that a box found near the fountain contained leaflets by a group claiming responsibility. The leaflets said the red paint was a protest for expenses incurred in organizing the Rome Film Festival and symbolically referred to the event’s red carpet.

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