A New Zealand man has made his last visit to Trevi Fountain after a drunken escapade at the Rome landmark over the weekend.

An unnamed 30-year-old, who is thought to live in London, was with two other Kiwis on Sunday night (local time) when they were caught by police trying to wade into the 18th century fountain.

It’s alleged the New Zealander broke free from guards and jumped into the waters.

The man was fined €500 ($830) and banned from visiting the landmark for life.

CNN quoted an Italian police spokesman as saying  “alcohol was definitely involved”.

Built in 1762 on the façade of the Poli Palace, the popular attraction reopened to the public only in December after a three-month restoration.

The historic fountain is one of the city’s most visited spots, attracting up to 12,000 tourists each day.

A queuing system was instituted to coincide with its reopening in an attempt to prevent large crowds massing near the landmark.

Rome introduced tough laws in 2019 aimed at protecting its historic monuments from its ever-growing numbers of tourists.

People are banning from eating or drinking or climbing on monuments, walking around partially unclothed and wading through fountains.

The measures have had mixed success: In 2023 a female tourist was filmed stepping across the Trevi Fountain in her sandals to fill a water bottle.

La Doce Vita made wading in the fountain an iconic scene. Photo: Cineriz

That same year another visitor was filmed carving his girlfriend’s name into Rome’s Colosseum.

In 2022, two American tourists were fined €400 each for throwing electric scooters down Rome’s Spanish Steps. 

Frolicking in fountains was made famous by Federico Fellini’s classic 1960 film La Dolce Vita – celebrating Rome’s carefree spirit – in which actress Anita Ekberg dances in the Trevi Fountain.