Rome’s Trevi Fountain opens following Fendi makeover

Its elaborate Baroque facade now sparkles in the sun, scaffold-free: Rome’s Trevi Fountain will gush its emerald waters once again after a clean-up funded by Italian fashion house Fendi.

Crowds of frustrated tourists have spent months peeking at bits of the monument from a special walkway put in over the fountain while repairs were carried out to the tune of over 2.0 million euros ($2.2 million). The basin was drained 16 months ago but the most determined visitors could still be seen slinging coins over their shoulders, a tradition which is said to ensure a return to Rome, in the hope of getting them into a small substitute pool.

Now the fountain, made famous by a scene in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita in which Anita Ekberg wades thr-ough its pristine waters, makes the surrounding buildings in Rome’s historic centre look decidedly shabby. German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld — Fendi’s creative director, is expected at the scene for the moment the taps are turned back on at 5pm local time (4 pm GMT).