The Latest: G20 leaders toss coins into Trevi Fountain

The Latest on the Group of 20 summit taking place in Rome:

ROME — Leaders of the world’s biggest economies are taking in the sights in the Eternal City, visiting Rome’s Trevi Fountain before getting back to work hammering out a final statement on climate change.

As the water gurgled behind them, the Group of 20 leaders each tossed a coin into the enormous Baroque-style fountain that has been the backdrop of many a film, most famously Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita.”

Legend has it that if you throw a coin into the fountain, you’ll return to Rome. Not all members of the G-20 participated in the Sunday coin toss; notably absent was U.S. President Joe Biden.

The fountain, which draws its source from Rome’s ancient aqueducts, went through various phases of design before its current version was inaugurated in the mid-1700s. It depicts Neptune, the god of the sea, taming the waters. Built into a wall of the Palazzo Poli behind it, the fountain draws its name from its location at the confluence of three streets, or “tre vie,” in Rome’s historic center.

The coins are regularly scooped out of the travertine basin of the fountain and given to charity.