Italian officials want to charge entry to iconic site as overcrowding leads to chaos: ‘Too many tourists’

A visit to Rome may soon cost more.

Tourism bosses in the Eternal City are desperate to curb overcrowding at the iconic Trevi Fountain – to the point where they are floating the idea of ​​an admission fee and booking system for visits to the beloved Baroque site.

The idea of ​​tiered entry and a modest fee of a few euros comes as the Italian capital experiences a growing number of visitors, with the historically holy site absorbing roughly 1,200 visitors every hour, the AP reported.

Many of the tourists are ill-mannered, officials complain — last summer, a woman shocked locals by going up to fill her water bottle.

Others have been caught attempting the famous fountain dip from “La Dolce Vita” – an act of soaking that carries a hefty fine.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualteri has expressed support for the plan, put forward by tourism official Alessandro Onorato, who noted that the admission fee would be on par with the amount of money many visitors throw into the wishing well. world-renowned, which already corrodes well. over $1 million a year.

“We have to avoid, especially in a fragile art city like Rome, that too many tourists spoil the tourist experience and damage the city,” Onorato told the AP. “We have to preserve two things, so that tourists do not experience chaos and that citizens continue to live in the center”.

Near the Colosseum, a visitor was caught carving his initials into its stone.

Visitors will be allowed to view the fountain for free from a distance, but access to the amphitheater-style viewing area will now be tightly controlled.

The Romans would be exonerated.

In addition to issues of criminal nuisance and trespassing, Oronato said the fee would discourage loitering — some visitors like to hang out eating their lunch on the steps, feeding the pigeons scraps.

“[Rule breaking] it would happen less, or maybe not at all, because whoever came in, we would know their names and where they live. It gets more complicated,” he said.

Further, in Venice, a five-euro-a-day tourist fee to protect ancient heritage sites – experts say over-tourism puts global monuments at risk – was introduced last April.

That didn’t stop a tourist recently disrespecting a cemetery – jumping into the adjacent canal for a swim.

In Sicily, officials are cracking down on a ban on mafia-related souvenirs.

Meanwhile in Spain, where overtourism has become the norm in some cities — prompting locals in Barcelona to chase tourists with water pistols recently — officials recently floated the idea of ​​a visitor fee in Seville’s Plaza de España.

“With the City Council’s budget alone, we cannot preserve our heritage, nor guarantee the safety of the monument,” a frustrated mayor Luis Sanz wrote on X.