A US tourist was fined 450 euros (8,119 lira) for eating ice cream on the steps of a historical fountain in Rome, Italy.
Warning the 55-year-old tourist, who was sitting on the steps at the base of the Catecumeni Fountain, built by Battista Rusconi in 1589, early Saturday morning with beer and ice cream in hand, the police fined the man who did not get up from his seat.
On Friday, a strip was placed around the fountain, which is the meeting point for many in the evening, to remind the ban on eating and drinking around such historical structures.
But the strip was removed by someone. Unaware that he had violated a rule, the tourist sat down and ate his ice cream.
The tourist said that he did not know that eating and drinking is prohibited around the fountains of Rome.
The ban in Rome includes sitting on the Spanish Steps. In June, another US tourist descended the historic stairs on an electric scooter, causing 25,000 euros in damage and was fined. Two weeks ago, a Saudi Arabian tourist had come down the stairs in his Maserati.