New Trevi Fountain Fee Aims to Control Overcrowding

Tourists visiting Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain will soon have to pay a modest fee to get up close and personal.

AP reports that starting February 1, a 2 euro ($3.22) fee will be charged for tourists to get close to the fountain made famous by Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” during daylight hours. Viewing from the piazza above remains free.

There have been complaints about overcrowding in Rome for years and the Trevi Fountain is located in one of the Eternal City’s most congested areas.

Discussed and debated for more than a year, the fee follows a similar ticketing system at Rome’s Pantheon monument. City residents are exempt from the fees and some of the funds from a recently imposed tourist tax and new 5 euro ($8.06) tourist ticket fee for some city museums is being rolled out in conjunction with a plan to broaden the number of museums that are free for registered Roman residents.

“We believe that culture is a fundamental right of citizenship,” Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri told a news conference. “We think it’s correct and positive that the citizens of Rome can enjoy our museums free of charge.”

At the same time, he said, the 2 euro Trevi tourist fee is modest enough that it shouldn’t discourage visitors, but rather allow for a more organized visit. 

The city decided to impose it after seeing positive results already from a yearlong experiment to stagger and limit the number of visitors who can reach the front basin edge of the fountain by imposing lines and an entrance and exit pathway.

So far this year, around 9 million people have waited in line to get that close-up visit, with some days as many as 70,000 passing through, Gualtieri said. That system now becomes permanent from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the fee to be paid by non-residents. Visitors can either pay in advance online, while waiting in line or by buying tickets at tourist locations around town.

After nightfall, access is open and free.

While bathing is prohibited nowadays, legend has it that visitors who toss a coin over their shoulders and make a wish will return to Rome.