Trevi Fountain turned out to be one gigantic piggy bank.
NBC News reports the iconic fountain had an astonishing amount of coins tossed into its confines last year.
Per the report, $1.5 million worth of change was tossed into its crisp waters in just 2016. I imagine there is a Goonie, somewhere, demanding that one of those coins was his dream and should remain.
The report explains officials regularly mine the fountain for change for a great cause. It spoke with Alberto Colajacomo, who is a spokesman for Caritas - a Catholic non-profit organization that gives the money to charities. Colajacomo explains: "The [city] council hands over to us bags full of coins thrown into the fountain."
There is a great reason so much change has found its way into the fountain. Rome is an amazing city. As the report reminds, if you toss change into the waters in a certain manner, tradition holds that you are assured of a return to the beloved location.
Some visitors are a little more zealous than others, however.
Colajacomo explains that some tourists, perhaps to really ensure their return, have tossed some peculiar items: "Among the coins often we find other objects, including glasses, religious medals and even a couple of dentures."
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The NBC News video below explains that every morning the fountain is swept and coins join random objects in buckets to be sorted later. And that is how we come to one remarkable 2016 windfall, one that also goes to a fantastic cause.
Obviously, the Trevi Fountain isn't the only famed fountain in the world.
Last year, the Daily Mail reported on various coin-tossing hot spots around the world and put a sum to some of the loot that was hauled in. Let's just say Trevi's loot wasn't nearly as lucrative in 2011 as it was last year. The report has the sum for that year and states it was $1 million (£707,638).
With that said, Rome's iconic fountain does seem to have the most prolific treasure raked from its depths.
The Bellagio certainly had major coinage, but it seems visitors are far more interested in watching the water show. The Daily Mail states it made all of $12,000 in one year. Paltry sums were also found at Buckingham Fountain, Chicago, and Bryant Park, New York. The report states Chicago's fountain location pulled in $200 one year while New York's location did much better with $2,000 found over a three-month period.
So it pays to have a well-known superstition accompany your fountain. A tale like that could be worth millions for the local charity.
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