Access to the Trevi Fountain will be
limited during the Roman Catholic Jubilee Holy Year of 2025 in a
pilot scheme that may lead to the introduction of a fee to see
the iconic Roman landmark, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said
Monday.
The centre-left official also announced the start Monday of
extraordinary maintenance of the Fountain.
It will be surrounded by transparent panels but within a month a
'horseshoe' walkway will be installed inside the basin where
visitors will be able to walk while enjoying an unprecedented
view.
The walkway will have limited access, and will therefore be a
dress rehearsal and experimentation of limited access to the
basin that will be introduced at the end of the work, in time
for the Jubilee.
In a later phase, the introduction of a "small contribution" for
entry will also be evaluated, Gulatieri said. The announcement
was made by Gualtieri together with the councilors for Culture
and Tourism Miguel Gotor and Alessandro Onorato and the heritage
superintendent Claudio Parisi Presicce.
Tourists can still make their iconic coin toss into a 'basket'
from the walkway, expressing the wish to return to the Eternal
City, Gualtieri said.
The possible entry ticket, Gualtieri and Onorato explained,
could be introduced as early as 2025, after three or four
months.
The entrance to the lower part of the Fountain will not be by
reservation or by time slots, but Zètema hostesses and stewards
will let visitors in up to the maximum capacity limit - there
are already gates with columns - and will wait for them to exit
to gradually let new ones in.
The Fountain will still be visible from the square. Gualtieri
ruled out installing turnstiles.
Asked if there would be an anti-loitering measure at the
fountain, similar to those in force at other historic squares
and landmarks in Rome, Venice and Florence, Gualtieri replied:
"The Fountain has seats, in fact the purpose of this restriction
is precisely to allow the enjoyment of the monument even by
sitting down.
"Obviously it is not the most suitable place to eat, there will
be limitations.
"One does not sit down to eat inside the museum in front of the
Mona Lisa."
He stressed: "The extraordinary maintenance work on the Trevi
Fountain will allow the monument to be enjoyed.
"In a month, a walkway will be installed that will allow you to
see it from a perspective never seen before.
"The Fountain will be emptied but you will still be able to
throw a coin into a basket."
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