Seemingly every tourist in Rome knows the key to returning to the Eternal City is to toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain and make a wish. The result: Hoards of visitors packing the Baroque monument any given day, taking selfies and betting on a return trip.
Officials are now considering a plan to manage tourism to one of Rome's most-visited sites: A 2-euro ($2.25) ticket to access an open-air fountain that has always been free of charge.
The proposal by city's top tourism official, Alessandro Onorato, comes after the Italian lagoon city of Venice tested a controversial 5-euro daytripper access fee to the city this summer. It must be deliberated by the City Council before it takes effect, but the city's mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, has already voiced support.
"Two euros is more or less the same amount that people toss into the fountain to make a wish,'' Onorato told The Associated Press Friday.
Cities across the globe are grappling with how to manage the ever-growing number of tourists, who fuel the economy but can create inconveniences to residents by converging on the same top sites.
