They had envisaged their coins falling into the basin of the 18th-century masterpiece as water cascaded from its elaborate sculptures.
Instead, they found it bone dry, and had to make do with throwing their money over a transparent panel and into a small pool that has been installed as the monument undergoes maintenance.
"I did chuckle to myself when I first saw it," said Nieporte, as the pair emerged from the confined space in front of the fountain crammed with tourists jostling for their chance to lob a coin which, as legend goes, guarantees a return visit to the Eternal City. But the pool didn't sully their experience.
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