Stunt leaves famed Spanish Steps filled with thousands of multicolored balls

Stunt leaves famed Spanish Steps filled with thousands of multicolored balls

Cleaners remove colored balls from the Spanish Steps in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008.

Tools

By Associated Press

ROME (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of brightly colored balls went cascading down Rome's famed Spanish Steps on Wednesday in the latest stunt orchestrated by the man who dyed the waters of the Trevi Fountain red.

TV cameras caught organizer Graziano Cecchini and several others emptying bags full of red, green, yellow and blue balls down the 18th-century steps.

The balls bounced down the steps, filling the boat-shaped Barcaccia fountain in the piazza below in a spectacle that stunned passers-by, who snapped photos and scooped up the balls as souvenirs.

Officials were forced to briefly cordon off the popular tourist spot. Police detained Cecchini and three others, Italian news reports said.

Cecchini, interviewed at the scene, told Italian TV newscast TG5 that he uses "art - if we want to call it art - to stress our malaise."

He said half a million balls were deployed.

Street cleaners later shoveled the balls into garbage trucks and hosed down the stairs to remove strays.

Following his Trevi Fountain stunt in October, Cecchini was placed under investigation for possible damage to historical or artistic buildings.















Icon
Current Temp 39.0 °F
A Few Clouds
More Weather

Upload directly from your mobile device.

Learn how

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

On Demand

Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV.

Stay Connected

Viewer Poll

What should Oprah do after her show ends Sept. 9, 2011?
Read more and join the discussion

  • Start a primetime talk show
  • Go into politics
  • Focus on the Web and her magazine
  • More philanthropic work in Africa
  • Whatever she wants; the world's her oyster!