A ticketing system to enter one of Rome’s most world-famous attractions could soon be in place.
Ahead of the Vatican’s Jubilee in 2025, Roman officials have announced big plans for the city’s iconic Trevi Fountain, including the possibility to introduce an entrance fee to the 18th-century landmark.
Measuring some 20 metres in width by 26 metres in height, the Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous landmarks in Rome.
Officials in Rome are mulling whether to limit access to the Trevi fountain, as the city grapples with the impact that overtourism is having on the late baroque masterpiece with picket pocketing in the area becoming increasingly rife.
“Personally I would be in favour of looking at a new form of access, limited and timed, to the Trevi Fountain,” Alessandro Onorato, Rome’s city councillor responsible for tourism, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
If enforced, it would act as “a [ticket] reservation system – free for residents and costing a symbolic €1 for tourists”, Onorato added.
The aim would not be to raise money, he said, but to better control the masses who descend daily on the monument, curbing behaviours such as loitering and snacking on pizza or gelato in a place that “deserves respect”, he said.
Onorato continued: ”We have to avoid, especially in a fragile art city like Rome, that too many tourists damage the tourist experience, and damage the city. We need to safeguard two things: that tourists don’t experience chaos and that citizens can continue to live in the centre.”
However, a spokesperson for the municipality told the AFP news agency that the proposal is merely “an initial idea – there is nothing concrete yet”.
“It is a delicate, difficult issue, but sooner or later it must be addressed,” the spokesperson added, “Tourism in Rome, which is reporting record numbers, must be made sustainable for the city and the environment.”
Starting in November the fountain’s lower basin is scheduled to undergo a £250,000 maintenance with the rest of the site set to be thoroughly cleaned and restored.
The fountain hasn’t received a serious scrubbing in a decade.
During the five-week-long process, a temporary walkway will be constructed around the foundation, allowing visitors to still view the monument’s various aspects.
