Italy’s Trevi Fountain introduces entry fee to combat overcrowding
The move aims to ease overcrowding, raise funds for upkeep, and grant locals museum access
Italy’s Trevi Fountain launched a new ticketing system on Monday, making the famous Rome landmark the latest tourist site to charge entry in a bid to raise funds and battle overcrowding.
People posed in the sunshine in front of the Baroque masterpiece after paying the two-euro (US$1.68) fee to access the now largely crowd-free area next to the basin.
“Tell me it’s not worth two euros! It’s worth thousands if not millions, it’s beautiful!” 41-year-old Polish tourist Agata Harezlak said.
The backdrop to the most famous scene in Federico Fellini’s film La dolce vita, when actress Anita Ekberg takes a dip, is top of the list for many visitors exploring the Eternal City.
But in the past, crowds in the public square have been so dense that it has been hard to get a proper look.
Briton Phillip Willis, wearing shorts and a T-shirt despite the cold, said he was pleased to get “a decent picture of myself without being bombarded by lots of other people”.