Two men climb into Rome's ancient Fountain of the Naiads before hotel guests spot them in intimate embrace and call cops

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:22, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 12:26, 17 June 2026 Two men who climbed into one of Rome's most historic fountains were caught by police in an intimate embrace after hotel guests spotted them and raised the alarm. Footage shows officers shining a torch towards the pair as they lay on top of the centuries-old Naiads in the Italian capital. The men then clamber down from the monument and sheepishly wade through the water in their underwear before meeting police waiting at the edge of the fountain. The pair are then seen speaking to three officers while sitting on the fountain wall, with a pile of clothes visible at their feet beside a police car.  The unusual incident, which was filmed by onlookers, quickly spread online and racked up nearly one million views in just three hours. According to local reports, the two men had climbed into the fountain in search of privacy but were spotted by guests staying at a hotel across the street, who alerted authorities. The Fountain of Naiads, located in Rome's Piazza della Repubblica, is one of the city's most recognisable landmarks and features four bronze sculptures representing water nymphs from Greek mythology. The incident comes just weeks after another tourist was caught in the waters of a historic Roman fountain. Two men who climbed into one of Rome's most historic fountains were caught by police in an intimate embrace after hotel guests spotted them and raised the alarm Footage shows officers shining a torch towards the pair as they lay on top of the centuries-old Naiads in the Italian capital The men then clamber down from the monument and sheepishly wade through the water in their underwear before meeting police waiting at the edge of the fountain Last month Italians erupted in fury after a tourist dived into Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain for a swim. The tourist, a 30-year-old from New Zealand, was spotted jumping into the fountain in his clothes. He floated through the water for a few seconds, before placing his feet on the fountain's floor and walking around. The tourist then took another plunge into the water, this time turning and performing a lazy backstroke. He ignored the demands of Rome's police to get out of the water, many of whom had gathered around the fountain. He was eventually taken out, and later fined €500 (£436). But few in Italy believed this was a strong enough punishment for the man. One social media user wrote: '€500 is small change. If it was €5,000 they would think about it for a while.' Another said: 'They think they can do anything they want in Italy. The fine should be €5,000.' And a third said: 'Immediate arrest and release on bail. If you don’t pay, you shouldn’t get out.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.