It’s long been a tradition to throw a coin into Rome’s famed Trevi Fountain, but if some Rome officials have their way, you may have to throw some coins into the ticket window first.
The fountain is one of Rome’s most famous, and crowded, landmarks; at peak times visitors have a hard time seeing it over the crowds that gather around the Baroque fountain. Throwing a coin into the fountain is said to guarantee a return visit to Rome.
Alessandro Onorato, city councilor responsible for tourism, told local papers that “Personally I would be in favor of looking at a new form of access, limited and timed, to the Trevi Fountain.” He’s proposing a reservation system that would be free for Romans and cost visitors €1. Onorato said the goal wouldn’t be to raise money but to stop visitors from “eating ice cream or pizza on a monument that deserves the proper respect.”
Rome is experiencing record visitor numbers, and expects even more next year for Jubilee, a holy year for the Catholic Church. Up to 30 million visitors are expected for that over the course of the year. Italy’s Prime Minister has floated the idea of a national tourist tax that could run from €5 to as high as €25 per person per day depending on the star-rating of the accommodations.
