Rome's cash-strapped city council is to start scooping up coins tossed into the iconic Trevi Fountain, leaving a charity high and dry.
Italian media have reported that Rome mayor Virginia Raggi wants to use the coins for projects to be decided by a council working group.
Tourists toss more than €1 million a year into the fountain, with Roman folklore saying that those who throw a coin into Trevi while facing away from it will return to the Eternal City.
Coins have traditionally gone to Catholic charity Caritas, but with a deal up for renewal and Ms Raggi eyeing the free money, it appears likely the charity will now have to do without the yearly cash boost.