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. 

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