Tourists wanting to get close to Rome’s Trevi Fountain will soon have to pay a two-euro fee, the city’s mayor has announced, as authorities seek to generate more revenue from Italy’s many tourist attractions.
Mayor Roberto Gualtieri claims that the new payment system will come into force on February 1, adding that the measure would bring in around 6.5 million euros annually, reports Reuters.
“Two euros is not very much… and will help reduce the chaos caused by tourist flows,” explained Gualtieri, stressing that Rome residents will continue to have free access to the fountain.
Tourists will have to pay if they want to climb the stone steps that surround the fountain basin, while the small surrounding square, where the imposing monument can be admired, will remain open to the public.
The Trevi Fountain, where tradition says visitors throw a coin into the water to ensure their return to Rome, has long been a major attraction for tourists, including visiting world leaders.
Completed in 1762, the monument is a late Baroque masterpiece depicting Oceanus, the god of all waters, symbolizing the varying states of the world’s seas and rivers.
So far this year, the fountain has received nine million visitors, Gualtieri said, suggesting that many will choose to admire it from a distance in the future rather than pay to get up close to the water.
Visitors present on Friday said they would be willing to pay if the money was put to good use.
“If it means the money is used for her upkeep, then yes, that’s fine,” said British tourist Yvonne Salustri.
Gualtieri added that five other relatively unknown sights in Rome, which are currently free, will start charging five euros for access from the beginning of February, continuing the recent trend of profiting from Italian cultural heritage.
In 2023, a fee of five euros was introduced to visit the ancient Pantheon in Rome. As a result, the square in front of the building is often crowded with people waiting to pay their entrance.
Venice introduced a system of charging tourists in high season, while Verona this month began charging a fee for access to the balcony associated with the story “Romeo and Juliet” of Shakespeare.
