A 55-year-old American visitor in Rome was fined €450 ($450) for eating and drinking while seated at the edge of the Fontana dei Catecumeni, as part of efforts to preserve the city’s “decorum” amidst concerns of excessive tourism.
According to local police speaking to CNN, the incident occurred around 1 a.m. on Saturday local time. The man was found consuming food and beverages on a section of the fountain, prompting officers to intervene. The rules violated were aimed at safeguarding the integrity of monumental fountains, with the Fontana dei Catecumeni dating back to 1588-89, designed by architect and sculptor Giacomo della Porta and later restored in 1997.
Since the 1970s, regulations have protected historic fountains, statues, and monuments in Rome. These measures were updated in 2019 to prioritize the city’s “environmental decorum.”
According to a statement from local police, over 300 inspections were conducted last weekend, with patrols enforcing various rules. These include restrictions on the volume of music played in bars and prohibitions against street drinking, organizing pub crawls, and swimming in the city’s fountains.
Police officers have the authority to issue fines and implement bans that can restrict individuals from specific areas for up to 48 hours. Repeat offenders may face longer bans, extending up to 60 days.
When the “decorum” regulations were introduced, the city council stated they aimed “to address various aspects of urban life, with a particular emphasis on preserving the artistic and cultural heritage of the capital.”
These measures were also intended to mitigate the effects of overtourism, a growing concern in Rome due to the overwhelming number of visitors. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Rome typically welcomed around 10 million tourists annually.
Recent incidents have highlighted breaches of the updated laws. In May, border police intercepted a 37-year-old Saudi man at Milan’s international airport after a rented Maserati was driven down Rome’s iconic Spanish Steps and abandoned.
A month later, two American tourists were fined and temporarily barred from Rome’s city center for causing damage to the steps with electric scooters.
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