Visitors to Italy may soon have to pay and reserve in advance to catch a glimpse of one of the country’s most beloved monuments, if draft proposals to better manage tourist numbers go ahead.
Background
The Trevi Fountain, an 18th century Baroque masterpiece marking the spot where one of ancient Rome’s aqueducts arrived in the city, draws millions of visitors every year and 2025 is expected to be no exception. In fact, with the Eternal City celebrating another Roman Catholic Jubilee next year, tourist numbers are anticipated to surge even more than usual. Preparations are therefore under way to deal with the threats brought by overtourism.
Residents in Rome and other Italian cities have long complained of the negative effects of the country’s popularity with holidaymakers, with poor conduct ranging from noise pollution to damage to ancient monuments, antisocial behaviour and crowding. Various efforts to tackle such problems include: a trial visitor access fee for Venice for the first time in 2024; one-way foot traffic in Naples; and limits on late-night sales of ice-cream and fast food in Milan.
One to two euro charge
Now, as the capital braces for 2025’s Jubilee, new crowd control measures are afoot. With the Trevi Fountain already viewed as an epicentre for bad tourist behaviour and an estimated 32 million visitors and pilgrims on their way, authorities are looking at a reservation system, with fixed allocated slots and caps on visitor numbers at any one time.
Rome residents would not need to pay, according to councillor Alessandro Onorato, who spoke to Il Messagero. “For Romans we are thinking of making it free, while non-residents would be asked to make a symbolic contribution, one or two euros,” he said.
Police protection
Although the plans have not yet been finalised or approved, the city’s Mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, agreed that some form of management of tourists at hotspots is “a very concrete possibility” with police complaining about the “concentration of people that makes adequate protection of the monument difficult and is also often a source of degradation.”
The emphasis is on maintaining a suitable atmosphere in some of Rome’s most iconic spots, with Onorato saying the Trevi Fountain “deserves respect”. Eating slices of pizza and doing battle with other tourists to nab the best selfie spot are just some of the behaviours that are frowned upon.
One type of visitor conduct that is likely to go unchallenged however, is the tossing of coins into the fountain – a tradition enshrined on the silver screen by 1954’s Oscar-winning Three Coins in the Fountain. Around €3000 are thrown in every day, with the money collected regularly and distributed to charitable causes.
