Rome’s Trevi Fountain Will Get a Much-Needed Cleaning—and a Controversial New Entry Fee

To prepare for the Vatican’s Jubilee in 2025, Roman officials have announced big plans for the city’s iconic Trevi Fountain. The site will be thoroughly cleaned and restored—and a new entry fee will be introduced.

The fountain hasn’t received a serious scrubbing in about a decade. The last major restoration began in 2014 when Fendi, the luxury designer, sponsored an 18-month clean-up before staging a runway at the site.

Since then, calcium deposits, grime, bacteria and weeds have been building up on the fountain. According to Artnet’s Anni Irish, the new restoration will begin in November and is expected to cost about $329,000.

Although access to the fountain will be somewhat restricted, there are plans to build a temporary walkway around the landmark during the cleaning. That way, visitors can still see the statue of Oceanus, the god of the sea, and his chariot led by horses.

“A set number of tourists will be allowed to enter the walkway, and when they exit at the other end, other visitors will be allowed to enter,” said Roberto Gualtieri, the city’s mayor, at a town hall, per the Telegraph’s Nick Squires.

He added: “It will allow us to better study the flow of tourists and the time they spend at the Trevi.”

The fountain was built more than 250 years ago, but its profile rose when it was featured in several famous films, including La Dolce Vita (1960). According to legend, tourists who toss a coin with their right hand over their left shoulder into the water are destined to return to Rome. If they throw two coins, they will also fall in love. Meanwhile, tossing three coins means marriage.

While visitors eagerly throw money into the iconic fountain each year, they may still be disgruntled to hear about the recent proposal to charge an entry fee at the beloved site.

Last month, Alessandro Onorato, Rome’s top tourism official, suggested charging tourists €1 or €2 (roughly ($1.10 or $2.20) in order to curb overcrowding. He added that Roman residents would be able to enter for free.

“We have to avoid, especially in a fragile art city like Rome, that too many tourists damage the tourist experience, and damage the city,” Onorato told the Associated Press’ Leila El Zabri in September. “We need to safeguard two things: that tourists don’t experience chaos and that citizens can continue to live in the center.”

Some critics who opposed the plan say that it won’t have a meaningful effect on managing overtourism in the city.

“Moving through the streets is already so unpleasant due to the numerous bottlenecks,” longtime resident Katie Parla, an author and tour guide, told the Washington Post’s Natalie B. Compton last month. “I don’t think that visitors or locals will benefit from constricting a very, very intensely trafficked part of the city.”

Officials have not finalized the fee amount, and they plan to use data from the temporary walkway to make decisions going forward. The fee will likely go into effect by next year.

Julia Binswanger | READ MORE

Julia Binswanger is a freelance arts and culture reporter based in Chicago. Her work has been featured in WBEZ, Chicago magazine, Rebellious magazine and PC magazine.