A selfie brawl broke out at Rome's Trevi Fountain, prompting police intervention as the spat spiraled out of control Wednesday night, Fox News reported.
The iconic fountain is a popular tourist destination and makes for the perfect backdrop for the quick selfie, which is what a 19-year-old female tourist from the Netherlands and a 44-year-old Italian-American traveler had in mind when the incident unfolded.
According to Fox News, both women wanted to take a selfie at the same spot, at a very specific time of day when the lighting was ideal, but things got heated as they both hustled for the right angle at the fountain.
The duo exchanged words but tensions soon rose and they began to slap and punch each other, Sky News said.
Family members jumped into the fight, with the youngest being 13 years old, according to Sky News.
Two police officers tried to intervene but they were only able to maintain the peace for a few minutes. It eventually took an additional two officers to break up the fight.
The incident resulted in eight people being charged with fighting, Fox News said.
The Trevi Fountain recently underwent a 17-month, 2.2 million euro restoration and last year Rome began imposing fines for bad behavior in and around the Trevi Fountain, The Guardian reported.
The city has long battled to protect the historic feature from rowdy tourists jumping into the fountains and in its latest efforts to curb overcrowding, it announced plans to make visitors use a designated pathway to file past the Trevi Fountain rather than linger at the monument, The Telegraph noted.
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