Rome Wants to Charge Tourists to Visit the Trevi Fountain: Here’s Why

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The capital of Italy, one of the most visited destinations globallyintends to contain the excesses of tourism and in particular the “disrespect” of visitors (between coins and wishes thrown into the water and summer foot baths) towards one of the symbols of the city: the Trevi Fountain.

Rome could therefore soon introduce a ticket to visit the iconic eighteenth-century fountainwith the aim of reducing crowding and promoting more responsible tourism.

“Personally, I would be in favor of evaluating a new form of access, limited and timed, to the Trevi Fountain,” he declared to Corriere della Sera Alexander Honored, Councilor for Tourism of the Municipality of Rome.

The councilor explained that it would be a “ticket reservation system”, free for Romans and at the symbolic cost of one euro for tourists.

For the city, the aim of the tax is not to collect money, but to regulate tourists. preventing them from “eating ice cream or pizza on a monument which deserves the right respect,” added Onorato.

How likely is it that the idea of ​​a Trevi Fountain ticket will go forward?

The fountain, work of the architect Nicola Salvi, It is one of the most visited attractions in Italy and in the world. This means that to admire it you often have to push through the crowd or stand on the steps of the nearby Church of Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio.

It is only “an initial idea, there is nothing concrete yet,” a spokesperson for the municipality told Agence France Presse. “A delicate issue that will have to be addressed sooner or later,” the spokesperson added.

Rome averages 35 million visitors per year and the number is set to rise in 2025 with the Jubilee, which will attract millions more people to the Vatican and the city throughout the year.

Venice has introduced a day-visit ticket

If the Trevi Fountain were to become a paid entrance, it would not be the first attempt in Italy to reduce or at least control the flow of tourists.

In early 2024, Venice has experimented with a 5 euro ticket for day visitors that arrived during peak periods, with the aim of encouraging people to travel at less crowded times.

The experiment has received mixed reactions from authorities and residents, but it is likely to be repeated in the high season of 2025.

In recent days it was also announced that the Italian government is evaluating increase the tourist tax for cities like Rome and Florence. If this were to happen, visitors staying overnight in these cities would have to pay 25 euros per night per person.

The proposal is not liked by hoteliers and restaurateurs and other associations in the sector, who complain that the increased tax could discourage visits and reduce profits.

According to Councillor Onorato, they are also considering limit licenses for new Bed and Breakfasts and holiday homes in order to reduce pressure on the historic centre of Rome. But a way must be found.

“Today we can limit the number of restaurants or fast-food outlets in the historic center,” Onorato said, “but we cannot prevent the opening of non-hotel facilities.”