Italy Rome considers entrance fee for Trevi Fountain

At the Trevi Fountain in Rome, it is traditional to throw a coin over your shoulder backwards into the water. Soon, however, tourists could lose coins at the entrance to the most famous fountain.

The Italian capital is considering introducing an entrance fee for the fountain.

"Our idea is to introduce a two-euro ticket to enter the area around the fountain's water basin," announced Alessandro Onorato, the Roman city councillor responsible for tourism, on social media.

The Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous sights in Rome. The area around the monumental fountain, which was built in the 18th century, is constantly overcrowded. Tourists bustle around the piazza in front and the water basin from morning to night. "We want to make the visit a real experience and not a chaotic jostling between tourists looking for the best selfie," emphasized Onorato.

Rome, like many other cities in the Mediterranean country, is struggling with mass tourism. This summer, tourism in Italy's capital recorded record figures. "But now we have to ensure that tourism is compatible with the lives of Romans, that it becomes more sustainable and can be integrated into everyday life in the city," said Onorato. To this end, a kind of ticket reservation system is to be introduced. This envisages tickets costing tourists around two euros - for Romans, however, access is to remain free.

So far, however, this is still just an idea, as the city administration emphasizes. "It is a very concrete idea that we have decided to study and deepen," the Ansa news agency quoted Rome's mayor Roberto Gualtieri as saying. It is not yet clear when such an entrance fee could be decided and take effect.

Venice is also struggling with mass tourism. This year, the lagoon city tested an entrance fee of five euros for day visitors in order to control the masses of tourists.

SDA