FASHION HOUSE TO RESTORE AGEING TREVI FOUNTAIN

Italian fashion house Fendi has agreed to finance renovations of Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain after the government admitted it could not afford the repairs.

The 250-year-old fountain which famously featured in movies including Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita needs a $3 million revamp.

Fendi's creative director Karl Lagerfeld says he did not hesitate to save an iconic piece of Rome.

"It's famous in the world," he said.

"I think its a great idea and a great project. It's a symbol of Rome like the Colosseum or St Peters and I'm happy that we can all help, and I'm happy to photograph the fountain to make a book about that called The Glory Of Water."

The 20-month restoration will clean the fountain, which covers the entire facade of Rome's Palazzo Poli with its allegorical statues of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of the god Oceanus illustrating the theme of the taming of the waters.

The restoration will remove calcium deposits, clean the statues, check the strength of steel supporting them, apply new waterproofing to the large basin, fix leaks, install new pumps and electric works and add new barriers to keep pigeons away.

Only one third of the monument will be covered by scaffolding at any time.

The last restoration was about 25 years ago but officials said new techniques developed since then would make it the most thorough cleaning in the fountain's 251-year history.

"There is no tourist in the world who does not dream of standing before the Trevi Fountain at least once in their life," Rome's mayor Gianni Alemanno said.

Tourists will still be able to toss coins in the basin - a tradition said to ensure that they will return to the Eternal City.

Not surprisingly, the soundtrack from the 1954 American romantic comedy Three Coins In The Fountain was played in the background at the presentation in Rome's city hall.

"Throwing a coin into the fountain is a rite and a right," superintendent for Rome's cultural heritage Umberto Broccoli said.

About a million euros ($1.35 million) worth of coins are thrown into the basin by tourists each year. All the money goes to a charity that helps the city's needy.

Fendi, known for its extravagant furs and chic baguette clutches worn by movie star Sarah Jessica Parker and pop singer Rihanna, is the latest luxury goods company helping Italy keep up its cultural heritage sites in times of austerity.

Luxury shoemaker and leather goods company Tod's is sponsoring a major restoration of the Colosseum.

Mr Alemanno said the city appreciated all the help it could get to keep up the capital's vast cultural heritage.

He called the Fendi family the "new patrons" of the arts, likening them to the Medici family of Renaissance Tuscany.

"This is not to shirk our duties over to the private sector but the state needs a new patronage to help Italian culture," he said.

In exchange, Fendi will get only a small sign about the size of a coffee table book telling tourists that it was the sole sponsor. The sign will stay up for four years after the project is completed.