Travelers Might Need To Book To Visit The Trevi Fountain In Rome

The Trevi Fountain is one of Rome’s most popular attractions, but the huge crowds that visit it spoil the experience.  For this reason, authorities in Rome are finally planning to reduce the overcrowding and make the fountain a more pleasant place to visit. Read on to find out how the Italian city’s government is planning to curb access to the fountain and give everyone the chance to visit.

Rome authorities considering curbing access to the Trevi Fountain

Any traveler who visits Rome will likely visit the Trevi Fountain, but access to this historic and baroque masterpiece might not be as easy as it was in the past. Rome’s authorities are contemplating limiting access to the fountain which is a magnet for tourists, TikTokers, Instagram influencers and more.

According to a report by The Guardian, the plans being considered would involve travelers making a reservation in advance to visit the iconic fountain.

Speaking to the local newspaper Corriere della Sera (per The Guardian) Alessandro Onorato, the city councilor responsible for tourism in the city said:

Personally, I would be in favor of looking at a new form of access, limited and timed, to the Trevi fountain.

Residents can visit the fountain for free

Locals in Rome will naturally still be able to visit the fountain with no reservation and at no charge. However, everyone else would be required to make a contribution of one or two euros for the chance to spend time taking in the beautiful masterpiece. It is unclear how anyone would be able to differentiate between locals and tourists when visiting Trevi Fountain.

While a charge will be levied, reportedly the goal of the entrance fee is not to raise money for the city. The new system is intended to control the hordes of tourists that surround the fountain from dawn until sundown, and even late in the evening.

To curb the actions of disrespectful tourists

Like many attractions in Europe, some tourists act disrespectfully while visiting the fountain, including sitting and eating pizza or gelato while seated at the fountain. Introducing the paid booking system is only one of the options being considered by Rome to protect the iconic site.

Quite honestly, wouldn’t it be better for tourists themselves if they could visit the site with less crowds?

According to Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, measures planned to curb tourist numbers were “a very concrete possibility,” adding that several possible solutions are being discussed. He said:

We’ve decided to study and investigate this because the situation is becoming technically very difficult to manage. Local police officers tell us this all the time: there is a concentration of people that makes adequate protection of the monument difficult and is also often a source of degradation.

Protecting the Trevi Fountain for Rome’s 2025 Jubilee

The need to discuss the problem with the Trevi Fountain is especially urgent as Rome prepares to host the 2025 Jubilee, a year-long Roman Catholic event expected to draw over 30 million tourists and pilgrims to the city.

However, this latest news joins a growing number of efforts to curb overtourism in the world and is also prompted by a history of tourists behaving disrespectfully at the fountain. Back in 2017, Rome began fining tourists for bad behavior after they started frolicking in the fountain water. Moreover, 2018 saw an eight-person fight over, of all things, the perfect selfie for social media.