Tourist Scales the Trevi Fountain in Rome to Fill Her Water Bottle, Breaking Rules of Centuries-Old Landmark

Please. Do not do this.

We’ve all heard the stories of travelers behaving badly. From defacing national parks to snapping selfies in places we don’t belong, there are plenty of stories out there to horrify us all. But one traveler visiting the Trevi Fountain in Rome is possibly outdoing them all.

A new video has emerged showing a woman wading through the water at the base of the famed historic site, making her way to the back rocks, where she climbs up, opens a water bottle, and proceeds to fill it with water from the fountain.

"There were signs all over saying that's not allowed," Lex Jones, a tourist who was visiting the fountain at the time, shared alongside a video they recorded and uploaded to Storyful, according to ABC News. "I was just like, wow, this is crazy, so I started videoing it."

According to Jones, the woman was promptly escorted away by security, but not before attempting to explain why she did it. “[She] didn't really understand why she was in trouble," Jones added.

Related: The One Phrase You Should Always Look for On Bottled Water, According to an Expert

While we don’t know what the tourist was after, it was likely to get a taste of the water, which flows directly from the Aqua Virgo, a water source dating back to ancient Rome. According to Engineering Rome, the aqueduct, which feeds the Trevi Fountain, was constructed in 19 BC, and is the only ancient aqueduct still in use today. It’s also the only aqueduct to enter Rome from the north. Its accompanying fountain, however, wasn’t constructed until 1762.

“Aqua Virgo was very effective at providing clean drinking water for people in the areas that needed it, as well as providing water for the baths of Agrippa and Campus Martius in general,” the website explained. The authors note, the aqueduct system has gone through many restorations throughout the centuries, which allows it to “receive the same original spring water from the Salone area” even today.

Though the aqueduct was meant to deliver clean water then, it most certainly doesn’t do that today. According to Rome Experience, the fountain produces some 80,000 cubic meters of water each day, but adds, “The water is recycled and just for show, so don’t be tempted to drink it.”

For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.