It’s a longstanding tradition for visitors to Rome to throw a coin into the waters of the fountain, and around €1.5 million are collected from the famous site each year.
Caritas Rome receives the coins gathered periodically, as part of a plan that was implemented in 2001, when then mayor Francesco Rutelli put an end to the unauthorised private collection of coins.
The coins are bagged and delivered to the Caritas Rome offices in the presence of police officers.
They are then separated, counted and deposited into the charity’s bank account.
The total sum donated makes up around 15 per cent of Caritas Rome’s annual budget and is used to support soup kitchens, homeless shelters and other initiatives which aim to assist the poor in Rome.
However, a leaked document implying Raggi’s administration may want to keep those coins for the city itself recently caused confusion and sparked outrage across the capital.
Following the backlash, Raggi on Monday confirmed that the money will remain with Caritas Rome.
“Caritas and all the thousands of people it helps can rest assured,” she said.
“No one has ever thought of depriving Caritas of these funds.”
In 2017, Raggi proposed using the coins to fund the maintenance of Rome’s infrastructure and cultural heritage.
The suggestion was fiercely shut down by opposition politicians and the Catholic Church.
Caritas Rome took to social media to thank all the “journalists, politicians, priests and citizens” who had called for the money to remain with the charity following the release of the leaked document.
