Feature: Trevi Fountain in Rome reopens after restoration

After long hours of wait, they finally got what they had come to see.

Water began spouting out of Rome's most symbolic fountain again, the large crowd of people and tourists gathering in Piazza di Trevi burst into applause, and feverishly started taking pictures.

Trevi Fountain was officially reopened to the public here on Tuesday after a 17-month-long renovation, and the project might be seen as a clear example of Italy's new approach to preserving its culture.

"I feel lucky to witness the reopening of the Fountain," Chinese tourist guide Pei Pei told Xinhua.

Pei said she has been living in Italy for 13 years now, and has showed tourists to see many historic monuments under restoration around Rome in recent times.

"Yet, this was the biggest project and lasted quite long. I was very much looking forward to it," she said.

It took about 2.2 million euros (2.4 million U.S. dollars) to clean up and restore the more than 250-year-old baroque Trevi Fountain, whose critical state was revealed when pieces of its decorative cornices started to crash down in 2012.

The restoration was totally funded by Italian fashion house Fendi, which contributed 2.5 million euros overall.

"It was a way of thanking the city of Rome, because it gave us so much in terms of inspiration, beauty, and light," Fendi chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari told Xinhua.

The remaining 320,000 euros went for the renovation of Rome's less known 16th-century Quattro Fontane, or Four Fountains, ensemble.

Lately, Italian authorities seemed eager to develop a new model to fund the conservation of the country's huge, but often neglected, cultural heritage by involving private donors more and more.

As for the capital city, a global awareness campaign was launched because "its cultural heritage does not belong to Rome only," superintendent for Rome's archaeological heritage Claudio Parisi Presicce told Xinhua.

"Roman citizens are the first 'guardians' of our monuments, of course, but this heritage belongs to the whole world, and every one can and should contribute to preserve it," the superintendent said.

"In this perspective, Fendi's contribution is a major example of what we are trying to do: that is, getting companies and brands who are deeply rooted in the city of Rome involved".

Unlike many other countries, corporate patronage to finance restoration projects has never been a common practice in Italy's modern history, amid fears this approach could see national artistic treasures becoming increasingly money-oriented.

Yet, the cost of preserving such heritage became a growingly heavy responsibility for a country suffering a protracted economic crisis and a huge public debt. That was when privates stepped in.

Under recently ousted mayor Ignazio Marino, Rome's authorities prepared a detailed list of all monuments and cultural sites in need of restoration or renovation, and appealed for financial help from abroad.

A donation from Azerbaijan helped restore an area within the Imperial Forums, and luxury jewellery Bulgari contributed 1.5 million euros for the on-going renovation of the Spanish Steps.

A Russian private donor donated up to 2 million euros to renovate the nave of the ancient Basilica Ulpia, the Quirinale Fountain, and Rome's Capitoline Museum, while Italian luxury shoe brand Tod's is funding the restoration of the Colosseum with about 24 million euros.

More recently, a special fund called "Rome Heritage" was launched in the United States to specifically attract donors from there.

"We have opened the fund in recent weeks, and it complies with U.S. fiscal rules allowing full-tax-exempt donations," Parisi Presicce explained.

"U.S. citizens will have the chance to help restoring a specific monument in Rome, or support the general preservation activity of the municipality".

Some steps were also taken at legislative level. In May last year, Italy's government issued an "Art Bonus" decree granting a 65 percent tax deduction for private donations to cultural restoration and preservation projects, and the provision should be confirmed in 2016.

The Trevi Fountain took 516 working days to be restored, and works ended before deadline.

It required 26 restorers, 27 technicians, and 31 engineers and work managers to bring it back to its original "splendour", but for those finally looking at the pristine water running down the newly gleaming facade the result was worth the wait.

"We have been here for hours ... But we were curious, because Trevi Fountain is so much symbolic of Rome, and so famous," Ilhan Erding from Turkey told Xinhua.

"I think patronage is a good solution, because events like this one are very important for Rome's own image and make people willing to be part of it," the tourist added.

As for the private donors, the way now for Italy to boost this private-public synergy would be to "simply do what they have been doing with us," Fendi CEO Beccari said.

"They made procedures simple, sped up the approval system, and set up a very clear process, with very fast response times." (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars) Endit