Police in Italy arrested three climate activists who turned the water in the historic Baroque-style fountain at the foot of Rome's Spanish Steps black on Saturday.

The climate activist group Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) claimed responsibility, saying it was in protest against fossil fuels.

The famous 17th-century fountain, which has the shape of a boat, was designed by famed Italian sculptor Pietro Bernini and is today among the array of popular tourist destinations in Rome. Activists used a vegetable-based carbon liquid to dye the water black, before police arrested them.

"It is absurd that you are scandalized by gestures like these, while we are living through a drought emergency that has put agriculture, energy production... our own subsistence, in crisis," the activists wrote onn Twitter.

Rome's mayor Roberto Gualtieri condemned the action saying it does not help the environment.

To prevent the stone from absorbing the dye, authorities drained the water from the fountain..

German climate activists fined for traffic disruption

Meanwhile, authorities in the German state of Baden-Württemberg said on Saturday 63 people had been fined a total of €7200 ($7800) for disrupting traffic.

Activists of the Letzte Generation (Last Generation) have held several demonstrations in Germany, including glueing themselves to roads or roping down bridges.

The fine for each activist will depend on the extent of the disruption caused.

It follows similar measures in the state of Bavaria. There, police have also placed some activists in so-called preventative detention.

In December, police raided eleven residences across Germany as part of an investigation into the climate activism group.

lo/jcg (AFP, dpa, EFE)