Tax on one of the most important tourist attractions in Rome. Access to the Trevi Fountain will be available for a fee from February
Fontana di Trevi is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Rome, the capital of Italy. Photo credit: Eido / Zuma Press / Profimedia
Tourists will have to pay two euros to have access to the Fontana di Trevi in Rome starting from February, a tax that would bring the municipality 6.5 million euros a year, the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, announced on Friday.
Only residents of the Italian capital will continue to benefit from the free service, reports Agerpres citing the France Presse agency. The monument, which attracts an impressive number of tourists every day, will be able to be admired for free only from a distance, and access to the vicinity will be reserved only for ticket holders, the mayor stated in a press conference.
“Starting February 1, we will introduce paid tickets to six objectives” in the Italian capital, including the Trevi Fountain, he declared. Entrance to five other objectives will cost five euros.
The Trevi Fountain is the main attraction on the list of the millions of tourists who visit Rome every year
This baroque monument built on the facade of a palace is one of the most popular places in Rome, made famous by Federico Fellini's film “La Dolce Vita”, in which Anita Ekberg invites Marcello Mastroianni to join her in the fountain basin. The objective is the first on the list of the many tourists who visit the “Eternal City”.
Making a wish and throwing a coin into the water of the fountain is such a deep-rooted tradition that the authorities collect thousands of euros every week, which they then give to the Caritas association.
Between January 1 and December 8, about nine million tourists visited the area in the immediate vicinity of the fountain, meaning an average of 30,000 people every day, said Mayor Gualtieri.
The town hall had announced on a previous occasion that it wanted to regulate access to the fountain due to a large influx of people in this area, targeted by pickpockets.
The town hall estimates that the entrance ticket to the Trevi Fountain could bring in 6.5 million euros annually, the mayor said.
It is not the first time that the Italian authorities introduce tariffs for visiting some monuments. The Pantheon, a church housed in a former Roman temple, began charging an entrance fee to visitors in 2023, and Venice last year introduced a tourist entrance fee during peak periods.
