It’s the peak of the tourist season again, and Rome’s police are getting cranky again, although this time not over overheated tourists wading into the Trevi fountain.
Recently the Roman police charged with keeping tourists safe and well-behaved have been shooing away people sitting on the iconic Spanish Steps that link Trinita del Monti church to the plaza below. Recently restored through private grants, the steps have been a visitor magnet for decades.
Rome has recently increased fines for a wide variety of ‘bad behaviors,’ but visitors report that enforcement is very uneven. And while sitting for a rest may seem like benign behavior, some Romans are taking it seriously, including the head of a residents’ association near the steps. Gianni Battistoni told reporters that people were not only sitting but eating and drinking on the steps and “The steps are a work of art, and you don’t sit on works of art.”
