The famous Trevi Fountain has officially reopened after a weeks-long cleaning. The municipality has decided to now limit the number of visitors to 400 at a time, the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, announced on Sunday.
“400 people at a time can be here (…) and the objective is to allow everyone to make the most of the fountain, without the crowds or the confusion,” declared Mr. Gualtieri in front of this monument made famous by the film “La Dolce vita”.
He added that this number could possibly be modified at the end of a test phase, the duration of which he did not specify.
The mayor of the Italian capital also indicated that the municipality would study in the coming months the possibility of introducing “a small entry ticket” to finance, among other things, the maintenance of the fountain.
Claudio Parisi Presicce, responsible for cultural assets at the town hall, told AFPTV that the work on the monuments of Rome, including the Trevi Fountain, was carried out in such a way as to “return to the city the majority of the monuments in useful time for the start of the Jubilee” of the Catholic Church which begins on December 24.
“The work lasted three months, with an enormous overall effort which allowed us to close the sites earlier (…). It is a comprehensive job of cleaning, eliminating elements of deterioration, bad herbs, limestone encrustations, which bore exceptional fruit,” he added.
This Baroque masterpiece built on the facade of a palace is one of the most popular sites in Rome, made famous by Federico Fellini's film “La Dolce Vita”, in which Anita Ekberg invites Marcello Mastroianni to the join in the fountain basin.
10,000 euros per week
The ceremony this Sunday took place in a light rain, in the presence of several hundred tourists, many of whom imitated the mayor, throwing a coin into the fountain.
Traditionally, the many tourists, 10,000 to 12,000 per day so far, throw coins there, which is supposed to bring good luck.
Normally, the authorities recover around 10,000 euros each week, paid to the charitable organization Caritas to finance meals for the poor.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
