Woman caught filling up water bottle from Trevi Fountain in Italy

The woman was filmed filling her water bottle from the ancient fountain. Photo / Unsplash

One tourist was caught going to great (and illegal) lengths to fill up their water bottle at the Trevi Fountain, in a video posted to TikTok.

In the clip, which has been viewed almost 1.5 million times, a woman is shown balancing on a row of rocks inside the 18th-century fountain in Italy; her water bottle stretched out towards a stream of water.

The tourist is not identified in the video, which was posted last month by the account @perrinebridge.

Wearing white capri pants, a light blue shirt, a blue cap and sandals, the woman fills up her bottle then clambers back across the rocks as the sound of a whistle blasts.

The camera then swings to the right to show a guard in a yellow visor walking swiftly towards the woman, who jumps over the fountain barrier and attempts to return to the crowd.

After the guard reaches the woman, the two appear to have a short discussion, both gesturing to the woman’s full water bottle.

Without any sign of force, the guard has the woman walk away from the fountain with her.

It is unclear whether the woman was fined or arrested for the brazen act.

During peak season, up to 1000 people can visit the iconic Italian landmark every hour, resulting in huge crowds.

Those bold enough to jump into the fountain can be fined up to €500. However, tossing a coin into the water is encouraged as legends suggest the person will return to Rome.

Approximately 3000 euros (NZ$5500) are thrown into the fountain during peak season, adding up to €1-1.5m (NZ$1.8 - 2.7m) each year, which is donated to Caritas, a Catholic charity that focuses on social services, relief and development.

Unfortunately, the woman is one of many tourists who have been caught misbehaving in popular tourist towns.

As tourists return in ever-increasing numbers following pandemic border closures, so increases the number of misbehaving visitors.

In July, Italy’s culture minister asked the public to help identify and hunt down a tourist who hacked his name into one iconic monument, while two German tourists allegedly broke a 150-year-old sculpture while trying to take photos for social media.

Others have also been caught surfing down Venice’s Grand Canal behind a boat, shattering priceless Vatican Museum sculptures and drunkenly falling asleep in Paris’ Eiffel Tower.