Italian media have reported that Rome is set to introduce an entry fee for the Trevi fountain from September, following the introduction of a €5 entry fee for the Pantheon in 2023. But how reliable are the rumours?
Where's the story coming from?
The news that Rome is preparing to introduce a €2 entry fee for non-residents starting in September was reported by Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday.
The paper had reported on plans to introduce a ticketing system in an interview with Rome's Tourism Chief Alessandro Onorato last September.
At the time, Onorato said "I'd be in favour of exploring a new, limited and time-based access system, with a reservation system: free for Romans and a symbolic one-euro fee for tourists."
The councillor first mooted the idea of restricting access to the historic monument in summer 2023 after latest episode in which a tourist jumped in the fountain – a scene he described as "an indecent spectacle, pure barbarity."
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri agreed that change was needed, saying that the site was becoming "technically too difficult to manage," with large crowds making it "difficult to properly enjoy the monument."
READ ALSO: Rome mulls charging tourists to visit Trevi Fountain in bid to cut crowds
So the fee is incoming?
While Corriere seems confident about the launch of a €2 fee from September, it's worth noting its claims aren't sourced.
In its article from Sunday, the newspaper described Gualtieri as on board with the scheme, citing his previous statements calling the plans "a very concrete idea".
But the mayor was referring to the idea of introducing a booking system that would cap on the number of people who could access the monument at any one time – not necessarily a fee.
Speaking to the press in October, he said that "a small contribution, one or two euros, might make sense," but clarified that there would be "no tickets" for at least the first few months as the city trialled a one in, one out quota system.
The idea of a fee has encountered resistance from local businesses and politicians, with Giuseppe Roscioli, the Rome president of hoteliers association Federalberghi, describing himself as "completely against" the idea.
"We already have the highest tourist tax in Europe," Roscioli said: "If we continue like this, tourists will end up paying for the air they breathe."
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How does Venice’s entry fee system work?
But there will at least be a quota?
Maybe: but if it's put in place as early as September, it would be with unprecedented speed.
The Pantheon's €5 entry fee wasn't introduced until 2023 – a full six years after it was supposed to launch in 2018.
Plans to introduce tickets for daytrippers to Venice were also repeatedly delayed before they finally came into force last year.
The idea of imposing any quota has faced strong opposition from local politicians, with Giovanni Quarzo from the hard-right ruling Brothers of Italy party calling the proposal "yet another makeshift solution by an administration that does not know how to manage mobility."
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