The famous Trevi Fountain officially reopened after several weeks of cleaning, and the municipality decided to limit the number of simultaneous visitors to 400 from now on, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri announced on Sunday.
“400 people can be here at a time. The goal is to allow everyone to enjoy the fountain as much as possible, without crowds or confusion,” said Gualtieri in front of the fountain, famous for the film ‘La Dolce Vita’ by Federico Fellini. , with Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni. He added that this figure could eventually be modified after a test phase, the duration of which he did not specify.
The Trevi Fountain, emblem of Rome, reopens
The mayor of the Italian capital also indicated that the municipality will study the possibility of establishing “a small entrance” to finance, among other things, the maintenance of the fountain.
Claudio Parisi Presicce, responsible for cultural assets at the City Council of Rome, told AFP-TV that the work on municipal monuments is carried out with the aim of “returning most of them to the city before the start of the Jubilee” of the Catholic Church, which begins on December 24.
At the Trevi fountain “the work lasted three months, with a great joint effort that allowed us to finish the works ahead of schedule. It was a meticulous job of cleaning, eliminating elements of degradation, weeds and limescale,” Presicce added. .
This Sunday’s ceremony took place under a gentle rain, with the presence of several hundred tourists, many of whom imitated the mayor, throwing a coin into the fountain.
Traditionally, the many tourists – between 10,000 and 12,000 a day so far – throw coins into the fountain and, under normal conditions, the authorities recover approximately 10,000 euros ($10,405) each week destined for the charity Caritas.
The Trevi Fountain reopens in Rome: what will access be like?
The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, explained in statements that have been collected local media such as La Repubblica last October that the Roman monument will continue to be visitable through transparent panels.
In his speech, Gualtieri pointed out that “the work and the catwalk, in particular, will be an opportunity to test quota access methods and the maximum number of people who will be able to remain within the lower basin, with the upper part of the plaza being free to access.”
Furthermore, the mayor of Rome does not rule out the introduction of an entrance ticket only for tourists from outside the city. “We are studying it, but a small contribution towards management expenses seems sensible,” he added.
Specifically, the walkway will have a limited number of tourists and the classic coin toss will take place in a basket in the same hallway. It will be at the end of December when the work on the Trevi Fountain will be completed, with the walkway also removed, ahead of the Jubilee 2025, a celebration that begins on the 24th of that same month.
Also, the Trevi fountain was not the only source affected by the works during this phase. In November, the works were completed on Piazza Farnese, Bocca della Verità, Piazza della Rotonda, in front of the Pantheon, and on the side fountains of Piazza Navona. For its part, the Fountain of the Four Rivers will close in December.
Source: AFP
Source: Ambito
