Rome's war on 'bad behavior' by tourists and others has taken a new and controversial step forward with city council approval of a plan to put a one-metre-high glass and steel wall around the famed Trevi Fountain.
That follows by about a month a plan to ban souvenir stands from major tourism sites, and by a year bans on sitting on or putting feet in the city's fountains. That especially applies to the Trevi, scene of a famous in-the-water encounter between Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg in Fellini's La Dolce Vita.
A leading opponent of the wall, architect and historian Paolo Portoghesi, calling the wall "truly foolish" and told Italian media that “Installing a barrier seems a frightful offence against the beauty of a masterpiece which gives itself generously to those who observe it." He proposed that instead police could patrol and warn off offenders.
Mayor Virginia Raggi is sticking to her defense of the plan, saying that the wall will free police to keep souvenir sellers under control, and that the wall “would not obscure the view of the Trevi Fountain, and would allow the traditional tossing of coins, a ritual for anyone who visits our city.”
Oh, yes, those coins, which legendarily ensure that the tosser will return to Rome. The city, living on austerity budgets, moved last year to claim ownership of the coins, which had previously been harvested for charities.
Photo: DrFumblefinger/TravelGumbo
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