Trevi Fountain fee takes effect as Rome seeks to manage tourist crowds

Tourists hoping to get close to the Trevi Fountain had to pay 2 euros ($2.35) starting February 2 as the city of Rome inaugurated a new fee structure to help raise money and control crowds at one of the world's most celebrated waterworks. The first tourists to pass through the new ticket check seemed unfazed by the tariff, noting it was a small price to pay for quality access to a fountain made famous by Federico Fellini's movie La Dolce Vita. "Before, there were problems accessing the fountain. There were a lot of people. Now, it's very easy," said Ilhan Musbah, a tourist from Morocco. "You can take photos, you feel good, you're comfortable, and on top of that, 2 euros is not much." The tourist fee was rolled out in conjunction with a new 5-euro (nearly $6) tourist ticket fee for some city museums. In both cases, Rome residents are exempt from the fees, and the extra revenue will actually expand the number of city-run museums that are free for registered Roman residents. It's all part of the Eternal City's efforts to manage tourist flows in a particularly congested part of town, improve the experience, and offset the maintenance costs of preserving all of Rome's cultural heritage. Officials estimate it could net the city 6.5 million euros ($7.6 million) extra a year. The city decided to impose the Trevi Fountain fee after seeing positive results already from a year-long experiment to stagger and limit the number of visitors who can reach the front edge of the basin by imposing lines and pathways for entrance and exit. The fee follows a similar ticketing system at Rome’s Pantheon monument and the more complicated tourist day-tripper tax that the lagoon city of Venice imposed last year in a bid to ease overtourism and make the city more livable for residents.