By Alvise Armellini and Matteo Negri
ROME, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Tourists keen to follow tradition by tossing a coin into Rome's Trevi Fountain will need to dig a little deeper from Monday, as the city introduces a new 2-euro ($2.40) visitor fee.
The charge, aimed at easing overtourism and helping fund upkeep of the monument, applies only to visitors who walk down the stone steps to get close to the fountain's basin.
The surrounding square, which offers views of the landmark, will remain freely accessible.
The fee will be levied from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at weekends. Under rules first announced in December, Rome residents are exempt, along with people with disabilities and their companions, and children under 6.
"I didn't know that we had to pay, but I have no problem with that," said Argentine tourist Valentina De Vicentis, one of those affected by the new fee. She said she expected it to ease overcrowding.
"There are less people in here, so I think that's good, because if not, there are a lot of people and you can't take pictures and you can't stay (for a long) time and enjoy."
The Trevi Fountain, where tradition dictates that visitors toss a coin into the water to guarantee their return to Rome, has long been one of the city's most popular attractions, even for visiting world leaders.
It is remembered for the famous film scene in Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita", in which Anita Ekberg wades into 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 December 2024-December 2025 period, which largely coincided with a Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee, which drew about 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 water, symbolising the varying 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.
They include Rome's ancient Pantheon, the entire city of Venice during the peak travel season, and, on a temporary basis, the courtyard in Verona with the balcony associated with Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".
($1 = 0.8427 euros)
(Additional reporting by Gabriele Pileri, editing by Ros Russell)
