Tossing a Coin in the Trevi Fountain Will Soon Cost More Than a Coin

Tourists visiting the Trevi Fountain are now going to pay more than just the legendary coin toss over their shoulder to get the Instagrammable selfie in front of one of the world's most celebrated waterworks, the AP reports. Starting Feb. 1, the city of Rome is imposing a 2-euro ($2.35) fee for tourists to get close to the fountain made famous by Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita during prime-time daylight hours. The view for those admiring the late Baroque masterpiece from the piazza above remains free. The tourist fee announced Friday is part of the Eternal City's efforts to manage tourist flows in a particularly congested part of town, improve the experience and offset the maintenance costs of preserving all of Rome's cultural heritage. Officials estimate it could net the city $7.6 million extra a year.

The fee, which has been discussed and debated for more than a year, follows a similar ticketing system at Rome's Pantheon monument and the more complicated tourist day-tripper tax that the lagoon city of Venice imposed last year in a bid to ease overtourism and make the city more liveable for residents. In such cases, city residents have been exempt from the fees. The same holds true at Trevi, while the tourist tax and new 5-euro (nearly $6) tourist ticket fee for some city museums is being rolled out in conjunction with a plan to broaden the number of museums that are free for registered Roman residents.

The city saw positive results from a yearlong experiment to stagger and limit the number of visitors who can reach the front basin edge of the fountain by imposing lines and an entrance and exit pathway. So far this year, around 9 million people have waited in line to get that close-up visit, with some days as many as 70,000 passing through, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said. That system now becomes permanent from 9am-9pm, with the fee to be paid by nonresidents. Visitors can either pay in advance online, while waiting in line, or by buying tickets at tourist locations around town. After nightfall, access is open and free. Legend has it that visitors who toss a coin over their shoulders and make a wish will return to Rome.