Leave the gladiator costume behind…
Every young child dreams of one day visiting the beautiful city of ancient Rome, but why stop there? Why not also bathe in its public fountains? Apparently, it’s been the dream of perhaps one too many travelers to make their way to the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona or Piazza San Pietro and dive right in. It’s also become far too fashionable to don Roman soldier costumes and live out the “Gladiator” fantasy, particularly after one too many drinks. Rome is officially tired of rowdy tourists killing its buzz, and sweeping new laws are curbing pranksters enthusiasm…
Fooling around in Rome can now cost you real money. Rome’s City Council has passed new laws aimed at restoring public order to rowdy tourists. Posing for photos in Roman soldier gear is now a fineable no no, as is drinking in public after 10PM or bathing in the city’s many public fountains at any time. Surely your Airbnb isn’t that bad. The new stakes are simple: break the rules, and you may find yourself €450 lighter on the way home. In addition to visitor focused laws, bars are now prohibited from serving liquor between the hours of 2AM and 7AM.
In the face of record tourism, the city is hoping to protect its core value as a place of rich history, priceless museums, iconic architecture and heavenly food and wine. Wild tourist parties, not so much. Rome follows in the footsteps of ultra popular Venice, Italy which launched similar tourist oriented initiatives just months ago. In Venice, wearing bathing suits as day clothing is a fineable offense, as is sitting in unauthorized areas. Venice is yet another city wrought with over tourism and iconic landmarks such as St. Marks Basilica have been damaged by careless visitors. Repeat offenders in both cities may now also faces bans lasting from 48 hours to 60 days. If you think the streets are rowdy, just wait until you see the prisons.
