Rome’s 2-Euro Ticket Has Eased Crowding at the Fountain, but Not Around ItIt has been about eight months since Rome established its new ticketing policy at the Trevi Fountain, and yet much of it looks the same. Tourists still angle phones around other bodies and ask for space to take a family photo. They still throw coins into the fountain’s basin in hopes that their wishes will come true. The only difference is the distribution of people. While only a couple of visitors at a time get to bask in the beauty of the Trevi up close and personal, crowds gather outside the gate attempting to do the same.Since Feb. 2, Rome has charged nonresidents 2 euros to enter the area closest to the Trevi Fountain. The fee applies only to the basin area and not the surrounding Piazza di Trevi. According to Turismo Roma, the city’s official tourism website, the policy is intended to manage crowding and help fund maintenance. For the most part, the policy has done what it set out to do. Visitors who pay have a calmer experience, and within the first month alone, the ticketing system raised more than 400,000 euros for maintenance from the 229,896 visitors who used it, according to Turismo Roma. However, the larger problem has yet to be eliminated: severe congestion around the monument. Because the square remains free to tourists, large crowds and tour groups still gather around its edges in hopes of seeing the fountain without entering the paid area. While the pressure is particularly visible at the Trevi, the rest of Rome’s historic center has also felt the heat. In 2025, Rome recorded 22.9 million tourist arrivals and 52.92 million overnight stays, including 12 million arrivals from outside Italy, according to Turismo Roma. The Trevi fee is one way Rome is attempting to combat the spike in tourism and make life in the city center livable again. However, for those who work and live near tourist attractions, the attempt to control crowds has made it worse. For workers near Trevi, the increase in visitors has been impossible to miss. Oria, who has worked for three years at a shop around the corner from the fountain, said her own store has seen fewer tourists this summer because of its location. Despite this, she still shoves her way through the crowds to get to work. Furthermore, her colleagues in the hotel industry have described just how bad the tourism has gotten. “I hear about the hotels, it’s more touristy,” she said, going on to explain that her colleagues have been overwhelmed by the surge. Oria said the mix of visitors entering her shop has changed over the past three years. While Americans once made up much of her customer base, she said she now sees more visitors from Puerto Rico, Brazil, Spain and France, as well as China, South Korea and Japan. Japan and China were among Rome’s 10 largest foreign visitor markets in 2024. Rome recorded 298,333 arrivals from Japan and 239,426 arrivals from China in hotels and tourist residences. Brazil accounted for more than 178,000 arrivals, according to Roma Capitale’s 2024 statistical yearbook. For some vendors, more visitors do not necessarily mean an easier workday. Mike, who has worked near the Trevi Fountain for 20 years, said the pace of tourism has changed as crowds have grown. “All of them want fast, fast, fast,” he said. “I don’t like this so much. Also, sometimes they are very rude.” Mike said visitors can treat service work as if it is beneath them, though the growing crowds also make it difficult to imagine closing his business. He hopes the large order of magnets he bought will sell before the season ends. The Trevi fee is one example of how Rome intends to combat the broader pressures tourism has put on the city. While it seems controversial in its success, it still offers a small glimpse into Rome’s ability to manage tourism without putting a massive paywall between visitors and the city’s most important spaces. For now, the fee has made it easier to stand close to the fountain. It has not made it any easier for those attempting to move around it.     

It has been about eight months since Rome established its new ticketing policy at the Trevi Fountain, and yet much of it looks the same. Tourists still angle phones around other bodies and ask for space to take a family photo. They still throw coins into the fountain’s basin in hopes that their wishes will come true. The only difference is the distribution of people. While only a couple of visitors at a time get to bask in the beauty of the Trevi up close and personal, crowds gather outside the gate attempting to do the same. Since Feb. 2, Rome has charged nonresidents 2 euros to enter the area closest to the Trevi Fountain. The fee applies only to the basin area and not the surrounding Piazza di Trevi. According to Turismo Roma, the city’s official tourism website, the policy is intended to manage crowding and help fund maintenance. For the most part, the policy has done what it set out to do. Visitors who pay have a calmer experience, and within the first month alone, the ticketing system raised more than 400,000 euros for maintenance from the 229,896 visitors who used it, according to Turismo Roma. However, the larger problem has yet to be eliminated: severe congestion around the monument. Because the square remains free to tourists, large crowds and tour groups still gather around its edges in hopes of seeing the fountain without entering the paid area. While the pressure is particularly visible at the Trevi, the rest of Rome’s historic center has also felt the heat. In 2025, Rome recorded 22.9 million tourist arrivals and 52.92 million overnight stays, including 12 million arrivals from outside Italy, according to Turismo Roma. The Trevi fee is one way Rome is attempting to combat the spike in tourism and make life in the city center livable again. However, for those who work and live near tourist attractions, the attempt to control crowds has made it worse. For workers near Trevi, the increase in visitors has been impossible to miss. Oria, who has worked for three years at a shop around the corner from the fountain, said her own store has seen fewer tourists this summer because of its location. Despite this, she still shoves her way through the crowds to get to work. Furthermore, her colleagues in the hotel industry have described just how bad the tourism has gotten. “I hear about the hotels, it’s more touristy,” she said, going on to explain that her colleagues have been overwhelmed by the surge. Oria said the mix of visitors entering her shop has changed over the past three years. While Americans once made up much of her customer base, she said she now sees more visitors from Puerto Rico, Brazil, Spain and France, as well as China, South Korea and Japan. Japan and China were among Rome’s 10 largest foreign visitor markets in 2024. Rome recorded 298,333 arrivals from Japan and 239,426 arrivals from China in hotels and tourist residences. Brazil accounted for more than 178,000 arrivals, according to Roma Capitale’s 2024 statistical yearbook. For some vendors, more visitors do not necessarily mean an easier workday. Mike, who has worked near the Trevi Fountain for 20 years, said the pace of tourism has changed as crowds have grown. “All of them want fast, fast, fast,” he said. “I don’t like this so much. Also, sometimes they are very rude.” Mike said visitors can treat service work as if it is beneath them, though the growing crowds also make it difficult to imagine closing his business. He hopes the large order of magnets he bought will sell before the season ends. The Trevi fee is one example of how Rome intends to combat the broader pressures tourism has put on the city. While it seems controversial in its success, it still offers a small glimpse into Rome’s ability to manage tourism without putting a massive paywall between visitors and the city’s most important spaces. For now, the fee has made it easier to stand close to the fountain. It has not made it any easier for those attempting to move around it.