282 Years Of Annual Giving
Few acts in life are more memorable than tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
I don’t know whether it’s the romance the act promises — the mythical assurance that your coin toss guarantees you a return to Rome — or just the spraying beauty of all that wet Travertine marble chiseled in an unforgettable Baroque manner.
Doesn’t matter. It’s simply wonderful and you’ll either fall in love … or stay in love.
Even if you haven’t been there — yet — you know the place. The movies “Three Coins in The Fountain” (1954), “La Dolce Vita” (1960). Magic.
And so my heart skipped a beat and rejoiced when the other day I heard from Kelly Browning, chief executive at the American Institute for Cancer Research reporting in with this photo:
Seems like the Trevi fountain is undergoing a long overdue restoration and renewal.
BUT… where do I toss my coins?
Now, when renovation and change happens to most organizations they just shut down or become paralyzed. Wait for the job to be finished and then resume.
Not the Trevi Fountain people. As you can see from Kelly’s photo, no problem. Just a bit of detour, but please give anyway. And when you do your return to Rome is assured.
Calls to the Mayor’s Office in Rome and the Vatican by The Agitator — they’re both non-subscribers, but very friendly folks — revealed that the proceeds of the fountain coin toss go to the charity Caritas and amount to about $3,600 a day.
The Caritas folks with their ‘Detour’ sign are on the job and get an Agitator raise, as does our foreign correspondent Kelly Browning.
Roger
P.S. Change is difficult. Especially after a long and pretty much repetitive pattern that began in 1732 with an initial lottery to finance the fountain. The fountain was renewed and refinanced again in 1972 with another lottery. [Exclusive to Agitator readers: that winning number was 56,11,54,18,6 — a constant reminder of the value of the inside information exclusive to our readers.]
4 responses to “282 Years Of Annual Giving”
Behavioral Science Q & A
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You planted me on that street with my coin in hand, Roger. I have no higher praise. U R truly a writah fella.
Roger,
Great and inspiring post,thanks for sharing,brings back some great memories of my time spent in front of the Trevi Fountain..
With my Italian history lesson finished I can now slay another Friday…
Thanks for an inspirational beginning to this day Roger!
Delightful post with such a gently presented lesson. Makes me realize how long it’s been since I was in that gorgeous city. Thanks