ROME, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Tourists wanting to follow the tradition of throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome will need to spend a little more from Monday, as the city will introduce a new visitor fee of 2 euros ($2.40).
The fee, which aims to reduce overtourism and help fund the monument’s maintenance, only applies to visitors who descend the stone steps to get close to the fountain basin.
The surrounding plaza, which offers views of the historic landmark, will remain accessible for free.
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The fee will be charged from 11:30 am to 10 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 10 pm on weekends. Under the rules first announced in December, residents of Rome are exempt, along with people with disabilities and their companions, and children under 6.
“I didn’t know we would have to pay, but I have no problem with it,” said Argentine tourist Valentina De Vicentis, one of those affected by the new fee. She said she hopes this will ease overcrowding.
‘There are fewer people here, so I think it’s a good thing, because if not, there are too many people and you can’t take photos and you can’t stay (for long) and enjoy it.’
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The Trevi Fountain, where tradition dictates that visitors throw a coin into the water to ensure their return to Rome, has long been one of the city’s most popular attractions, even for visiting world leaders.
She is remembered for the famous scene in Federico Fellini’s film ‘La Dolce Vita’, in which Anita Ekberg enters the fountain and beckons her co-star Marcello Mastroianni to join her: ‘Marcello! Come here!’
Ten million visitors per year
Authorities say more than 10 million people visited the fountain in the period from December 2024 to December 2025, which largely coincided with a Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee, that drew some 33.5 million pilgrims to Rome.
Fed by an ancient Roman aqueduct and completed in 1762, the monument is a late Baroque masterpiece depicting Oceanus, the god of all waters, symbolizing the different moods of the world’s seas and rivers.
With tourism booming in Rome and across Italy, visitor fees have been introduced at a growing number of cultural landmarks.
These include the ancient Pantheon in Rome, the entire city of Venice during the peak travel season and, temporarily, the courtyard in Verona with the balcony associated with Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
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