Anita Ekberg, who famously waded in Rome's Trevi Fountain with Marcello Mastroianni in the 1960 classic film La Dolce Vita, would probably say, "It's about time, darling!"

The fountain, arguably the world's most recognizable, is about to get the most thorough face-lift since it was completed in 1762. The restoration was presented on Monday by a man who also uses the word darling a lot: fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Lagerfeld is artistic director of Fendi, the Italian luxury fashion house that is picking up the tab for the 2.2 million euro ($2.9 million) restoration.

"I think it's a great idea and a great project. This fountain is a symbol of Rome like the Colosseum and St Peter's, and I am happy that we can all help," said Lagerfeld.

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.

But tourists need not worry. Only one-third of the monument will be covered by scaffolding at any given time. They will still be able to toss coins in the basin - a tradition said to ensure that they will return to the Eternal City.

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.

Reuters