This is the moment a young woman is seen swimming completely naked in an iconic fountain in the heart of the Italian capital Rome during a heatwave.

She was completely naked and in full view of passers-by in the fountain located few feet away from the Chigi Palace, which is the seat of the Council of Ministers and the official residence of the Prime Minister of Italy.

The footage, recorded by other visitors to the area, showed the girl stripping off naked and climbing into the fountain of Piazza Colonna in the heart of Rome for a swim on Saturday, 19 June.

Local media report that the unidentified young woman was apparently a tourist, who had been heard complaining shortly before that she was melting because of the heat in the city.

The woman had then jumped over the barriers protecting the fountain, somehow managing to escape the attention of the police officers who were on duty in the area.

Once on the other side, she undressed completely and climbed into the fountain for a swim, at one point even lying on her back in the cooling water.

Eventually, the police officers approached and the woman was reprimanded and ordered to get out of the fountain.

Looking a little embarrassed, she then climbed out of the fountain and picked up her clothes off the pavement to dress herself.

There is no further information on whether the young woman was fined for her unauthorised activity.

Local media reported that passers-by had heard the woman being dared by her friends to use the fountain to call off, as she had been complaining so much about the heat.