Rome to introduce entry fee for Trevi Fountain

Rome will introduce paid entry for some tourists at six monuments and museums, including Trevi fountain, that have so far been free, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said on Friday (December 19).

From February 1, visitors will be charged to access the Fontana di Trevi viewing area in front of the basin, with tickets costing two euros, as well as the Villa of Maxentius, the Napoleonic Museum, the Carlo Baracco Museum, the Pietro Canonica Museum and the Museo Pilotti.

The Trevi Fountain, where tradition dictates that visitors toss a coin to guarantee their return to Rome and fulfil their wishes, has long been a major attraction, even for visiting world leaders. 

Completed in 1762, the monument is a late Baroque masterpiece, with statues of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of the god Oceanus, illustrating the theme of the taming of the waters.

It is also remembered for one of cinema's most famous scenes when in Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" Anita Ekberg wades into the fountain and beckons her co-star Marcello Mastroianni to join her: "Marcello! Come here!" 

-Cristiano Corvino, Gabriele Pileri and Oriana Boselli