Retired police go on tourist patrol at Rome's Trevi Fountain

Retired police go on tourist patrol at Rome’s Trevi Fountain

A tourist tosses a coin onto renown Trevi Fountain in Rome, Tuesday, July 25, 2017. Visitors are granted access to the border of the fountain in ordinate and controlled flow, under the supervision of two associations of volunteers. | AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

ROME — Retired traffic officers at Rome’s Trevi Fountain are working to keep tourists on good behavior.

The Italian city’s mayor signed an order last month aimed at protecting Trevi and some 40 other historic fountains. The order prescribes stiff fines for climbing, sitting or eating on the monuments.

Several former police officers started shooing tourists off the stone rim of the Trevi Fountain on Tuesday. They reminded people not to eat there and to keep an open path through the crowds.

Earlier this year, a man swam naked in Trevi Fountain. Soccer hooligans damaged a Baroque fountain near the Spanish steps.

The city says the volunteer officers will stand vigil from 9 a.m. until midnight until mid-October. Authorities will decide after the peak tourist season wanes whether to make the fountain patrols permanent.

Associated Press

A volunteer blows a whistle in front of renown Trevi Fountain in Rome, Tuesday, July 25, 2017. Visitors are granted access to the border of the fountain in ordinate and controlled flow, under the supervision of two associations of volunteers, after Rome municipality decided to limit the access to the border of the fountain during an 80 days test period, to avoid excessive crowding and improper behaviors. | AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

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