Value of coins in Trevi Fountain soared by 30%

Legend holds that tourists who toss a coin into Rome's Trevi Fountain can be assured of returning to the Eternal City.

And figures published yesterday suggest that hotels in the Italian capital can expect plenty of bookings in the future - the value of small change recovered from the water is soaring.

Despite the troubles gripping the European economy, it seems more people are willing to throw cash into the famous fountain.

The value of small change tossed into Rome's Trevi Fountain is soaring. The rise is not solely due to tourists seeking good luck in difficult times, however. Authorities in Rome have also clamped down on thieves who steal coins from the water. The Roman Catholic charity Caritas, which fishes out coins once a week to pay for Aids shelters and food for the poor, has noticed a significant change.

The charity removed coins worth £652,500 in 2010, rising to £740,500 last year.

This year, with the tourist season only just beginning, Caritas has already collected £420,000 - more than £2,300 a day, according to the Daily Mail.

The fountain is a huge attraction for tourists and it has featured in several films, including the 1960 movie La Dolce Vita starring Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni.

The tradition that a visitor who throws a coin into the fountain will return to Rome was at the centre of the 1954 Hollywood film Three Coins in the Fountain.

The crackdown on thieves began after a television show used a hidden camera to record three men sweeping coins from the fountain with a broom in April last year.