Soon, a selfie in front of the Trevi Fountain, one of Rome’s most iconic landmarks, could cost you more than the pocket change you use to make a wish. To preserve the eternal charm of its beloved fountain, the city of Rome is proposing a new idea to assuage the hordes: an entrance ticket.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri confirmed in an interview with national newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that the city is indeed working on a proposal to curb tourist crowds at the Trevi Fountain with a limited-access reservation system.
“We are thinking about this very concrete hypothesis,” said Gualtieri, as he underlined that the current tourism numbers are making protection of the 18th-century monument increasingly difficult.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a notable surge in tourism, with a record-breaking 50 million visitors arriving in Rome in 2023. Predictions for 2025 indicate that visitors to Rome could nearly double, in part thanks to the Jubilee, a Catholic tradition dating back to the 1300s that is marked by pilgrimages and ceremonies. It’s hosted every quarter century in Rome and lasts throughout the entire year. What does this mean for a popular visitor draw such as the Trevi? Likely more crowds, trash, and pickpockets, resulting in more wear and tear to the monument and its surrounding piazza.
What we know so far about the proposed Trevi Fountain reservation system
Rome’s city council si currently considering the idea of requiring ticketed entry for access to Trevi Fountain. According to an Instagram Reel by councilman Alessandro Onorato, Rome is considering charging tourists, not residents, two euros for tickets. The reservation-only ticket would allow a limited number of visitors to access the front row of the fountain and would hypothetically also enforce a ban on food and litter near the UNESCO World Heritage site, addressing an ongoing issue with waste in the area.
While there won’t be any turnstiles, the city is spitballing the idea of creating two zones: The piazza would remain open for anyone to walk through freely, while those wanting to get up close to the fountain for the iconic coin toss and a photo would need to book a 30-minute time slot.
Since July 2023, a five-euro ticket is required for visiting the ancient Roman Pantheon temple.
Photo by Chris Czermak/Unsplash
This isn’t the first time Rome would be transitioning to a ticket system for a landmark that was previously open to the public. In July 2023, the Italian Ministry of Culture and Vatican church officials introduced a reserved ticket requirement for the Pantheon, one of ancient Rome’s greatest and most well-preserved temples, and in 2008, the Roman Forum went from local thoroughfare to ticket-only visits, both of which created much chagrin and long lines for visitors and residents.
“The ticket policy has created a maze at the Pantheon,” said archaeologist and Rome resident Darius Arya. “So creating a line at Trevi would be a disaster. It would change the mystique. Remember, the Trevi Fountain is an experience. It’s not a ride.”
At 86 feet in height and 161 feet in width, the Trevi Fountain is the largest fountain in the Eternal City, and its most lavish. Designed in 1732 by artist Nicola Salvi, the fountain is a thrilling scene of a larger-than-life Oceanus on a shell chariot being pulled by sea horses that tread across a humongous cascade of water. Ever since its completion in 1762, the beautiful baroque fountain has continuously drawn in visitors, including Anita Ekberg in Federico Fellini’s epic 1960 film La Dolce Vita.
The water that flows into Trevi comes from the Acqua Vergine, one of ancient Rome’s original aqueducts. As precious as both the water and fountain are, visitors haven’t been respectful or remotely kind. They’ve thrown bread in the fountain for pigeons, left trash on the ground, jumped in as Ekberg did, stripped down and bathed in the basin, and even dyed the water for protests.
In spite of the weekly cleaning and coin collections by the Catholic charity Caritas and a recent 2-million-euro restoration funded by Italian fashion label Fendi, the ongoing stresses on the fountain are almost unstoppable, which is exactly what the city of Rome hopes to reduce with the proposed ticket system.
“We want to make the visit to the Trevi Fountain truly an experience and not a chaotic jostling between one tourist and another to find the best selfie angle. And avoid having them arrive with a fast food bag,” added Onorato. “We want this monument to be protected.”
There’s a lot of buzz about the proposal, especially with the impending Jubilee and ongoing talks about how to curb overtourism, but don’t expect a ticket for the Trevi anytime soon. In Italy, it can take quite a while for matters to progress from proposal to actuality.
