The scorching heat sweeping across Italy is not sparing the capital. In Rome, where temperatures continue to touch or exceed 40 degrees, the wave of mugginess has led to increasingly frequent scenes of citizens and tourists seeking refreshment in the most immediate and often improvised ways. These include the gesture of a man who decided to dive into the Triton Fountain in the historic center, attracting the attention of those present.
The episode occurred in broad daylight in Piazza Barberini, one of the city’s busiest areas. With the sun blazing and the asphalt seething, the man crossed the square and entered the basin of the Baroque fountain designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in built between 1642 and 1643 at the behest of Pope Urban VIII Barberini, used for the occasion as a sort of public swimming pool. The images have thus begun to circulate on the web, helping to reignite the debate on themisuse of the city’shistorical heritage, which has long been at the center of similar episodes, especially during the hottest summers.
The high temperatures recorded in recent days have made the urban environment particularly hostile, with the grip of the heat persisting even into the evening hours. In Rome, as in many other Italian cities, local governments have set up emergency plans to cope with the heat wave, with the opening of air-conditioned centers and water distribution points. In any case, as demonstrated by the case of Piazza Barberini, the perception of discomfort remains high and pushes citizens to resort to behaviors that are not always compatible with the protection of cultural heritage. This is not the first such episode in the capital. Already in past years there had been impromptu dips in other historic fountains, including the Fontana della Barcaccia in Piazza di Spagna and the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in Piazza Navona. There is currently no damage to the structure, but the incident brings attention back to the need to prevent such behavior with a greater presence of principals and with information campaigns on respecting historic places.
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| Rome, man plunges into Bernini's Triton Fountain in search of refreshment |
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