Tourists no longer allowed to sit at Trevi Fountain in Rome.

Rome traffic police cordoned off the Trevi Fountain for more than two hours on the afternoon of Saturday 13 July due to the excessive amount of tourists, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

The move, which saw hundreds of tourists restricted from descending the steps to the Baroque monument, follows the city's new rules regarding the protection of historic fountains.

In addition to a strict ban on entering the waters, the regulations forbid visitors from sitting, lying down or climbing on the city's fountains.

During the closure on 13 July, which occurred from around 16.00 to 18.00, tourists were invited to form orderly lines and wait their turn for taking photographs of the fountain from street level.

Tourists continued to throw the customary coins towards the fountain, with traffic police gathering and re-throwing all the coins that did not reach the water.

In recent weeks the city has handed out dozens of fines to tourists for bathing - or dipping their feet in - the city's historic fountains.

Photo La Repubblica