The Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) in Rome is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world and the city saw itself forced to implement a new entry system that restricts accessibility to the site in batches.
Unfortunately, this came with the erection of fences to keep tourists – literally – in line, but it looks a little ugly, plus there has been an ongoing discussion of the option to charge a small admission fee to the fountain.
Overtourism is a problem in general when it comes to the world’s most coveted sites and cities, just ask Hallstatt in Austria or Kyoto in Japan how the mob scene has pretty much destroyed the quality of local life.
The “eternal city” of Rome easily ranks in the top three destinations worldwide and for good reason. The blend of historical sites, art, food, weather and flair is hard to beat but the crowds take their toll on this experience as well.
Places like the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain are literally swamped with people and the secret is to go there during times when people are still sleeping or having breakfast.
If you go during the day then well, you gotta fight the crowds and now at least the Trevi Fountain it looks like this after the people are held back and everyone has to wait his or her turn:
The city has put up fences to force people into a steady line, allowing them to funnel batches of tourists into the immediate fountain area for a few minutes at a time.
As you can see from the picture above, the result is pretty decent. Once you make it to the front lines for your few moments of solace, be prepared to wait quite a while, though.
In addition to this, last year a proposal was made and discussed about charging a small fee of 1-2 Euro for access to the Trevi fountain, according to EuroNews last September:
Rome could soon launch a ticketing system to enter one of its most iconic sites.
Authorities in the Italian capital say they want to start the scheme at the Trevi Fountain as part of ongoing plans to both reduce crowds and promote “sustainable tourism”.
The 18th-century fountain has long been a ‘must visit’ for tourists to the Eternal City, but it is frequently overcrowded and rife with pickpockets.
“Personally I would be in favour of looking at a new form of access, limited and timed, to the Trevi Fountain,” Alessandro Onorato, Rome’s city councillor responsible for tourism, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
If enforced, it would act as “a [ticket] reservation system – free for Romans and costing a symbolic €1 for tourists”, Onorato added.
Despite that cost, the city’s authorities say the goal of the charge is not to raise money, but to lessen and control crowds, while stopping them from “eating ice cream or pizza on a monument that deserves the proper respect.” …
While Onorato is keen to see the ticketing scheme in action, a spokesperson for the municipality told the AFP news agency that the proposal is merely “an initial idea – there is nothing concrete yet”. …
So far, nothing has been put in place as far as a fee structure is concerned.
But don’t get me started about pickpockets, beggars and other unsavory characters hanging around in Rome’s most popular spaces, that’s definitely a topic for another day.
Conclusion
When visiting the Trevi Fountain in Rome this week I found that you now have to line up in a rather long queue and wait your turn in order to be able to access the fountain up close. As I have visited there many times before, I just had a quick glance from the side, enjoyed the moment with my Gelato in hand, and then moved on.
This new system brings more order to the place, and less crowding also prevents pickpocketing. There has been a strong police presence at all of Rome’s tourist attractions this week, and I feel that’s warranted for multiple reasons. Crime and scams are alive and well in Rome. I even got a fake 2 Euro coin (my fault for not looking closer, I should know better).
For first time visitors this new system allows them to enjoy the Trevi Fountain after some wait, have more space and take nicer pictures up front. Paying for access to the fountain isn’t a huge problem as long as the payment doesn’t make the access even messier, as is usually the case. Would you be willing to pay?
