The Academy Award-winning film Three Coins in the Fountain told a story of love and romance in the city of Rome, with a plotline that involved coins thrown into that city’s historic Trevi Fountain. The fountain has greeted visitors and locals alike since the 18th century and has become one of the Eternal City’s most iconic destinations. But if some enterprising producer decides to remake Three Coins in the Fountain for the present day, they’ll need to factor in a recent development: the price to visit said fountain is going up.
As Tessa Solomon reports at ARTnews, the city’s government is set to implement a fee on Feb. 1 for visitors looking to get close to the Trevi Fountain between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. That fee is a relatively modest one, however: all of €2.00, or $2.35 at the current rate of exchange. That’s cheaper than riding the NYC subway, even before the fare goes up at the beginning of January.
As for what’s behind the decision to implement this small fee, the answer is a growing concern for cities all over the world: concerns about overcrowding. ARTnews cited officials in Rome’s municipal government who believe that this measure could raise close to $7.6 million annually, which would help keep historic sites across the city better maintained. Given that recent years have seen tourists do things like carve their initials into the Colosseum, it isn’t hard to see why having some extra money on hand for repairs would be beneficial.
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From traditional trattorias to modern cocktail densNumerous cities and cultural institutions around the world have sought the proper balance between addressing overcrowding and recognizing the draw of certain locations. Last month, the Louvre announced that it would raise admission fees for visitors based outside of the European Economic Area, for instance. It’s a delicate balancing act — but odds are, if you’re already flying to Rome, you can probably afford an extra $2.35 for a certain scenic destination.
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