Rome’s Trevi Fountain restored in time for Jubilee year

ROME – A restored Trevi Fountain was unveiled on Dec 22 after more than two months of cleaning and restoration, part of Rome’s preparations for the 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year.

The work, for which Rome set a €327,000 (S$460,000) budget, included removing dirt, pollution, iron oxide and limescale from the 18th-century monument, one of its best-known tourist attractions.

At the time, the fountain was drained, but visitors got to view it from a temporary footbridge.

To avoid a return of the big crowds that typically overwhelm the small square housing the fountain, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said visitors must queue, with 400 people allowed near the fountain at any time.

Tourists will not have to rush – with no time limit set to walk from one end of the fountain to the other – but they will not be permitted to sit on its border.

In the future, the city may consider introducing a ticket for the monument, Mr Gualtieri added.

The Vatican expects up to 32 million tourists to visit Rome for the Jubilee, putting its antiquated infrastructure under enormous strain and adding to the headache of managing the flow of visitors.

Completed in 1762, the fountain is a late Baroque masterpiece, with statues of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of the god Oceanus, illustrating the theme of the taming of the waters.

Tradition dictates that visitors toss a coin into the fountain to guarantee their return to Rome. During the works, visitors threw coins into a temporary pool.

It is also remembered for one of cinema’s most famous scenes when in director Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, actress Anita Ekberg wades into the fountain and beckons her co-star Marcello Mastroianni to join her: “Marcello! Come here!” REUTERS