An American tourist has been fined €450 for eating and drinking while sitting by a fountain in Rome, violating rules designed to protect monumental fountains and combat excessive tourism.
According to the Italian police, quoted by CNN International, the 55-year-old man sat on the edge of the Fontana dei Catecumeni to eat, around 1:00 am on Saturday. The intervention of the authorities was due to the fact that the man had “intended to drink and eat in part of the source”, ignoring the regulations designed to protect this type of place.
The fountain, built between 1588 and 1589 by the architect and sculptor Giacomo della Porta, was restored in 1997.
Rules to protect historic fountains, statues and other monuments were first introduced in the 1970s, but in 2019 they were updated, highlighting the maintenance of “environmental decoration”.
Last weekend, the Local Police carried out more than 300 repressive operations, with street patrols. In addition to limits on the volume of music played in bars, the regulations also include a ban on drinking in the street and taking a dip in the city’s fountains.
The authorities can impose fines and ban people from entering a certain area for 48 hours. Repeat offenders can be suspended for up to 60 days.
When these rules were introduced, the Rome City Council said they would be applied to “deal with many aspects of city life, with particular attention to respect for the artistic and cultural heritage of the Italian capital.”
The municipality also aims to combat overtourism. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Rome received around 10 million visitors a year.
Several incidents related to violations of these laws have already been recorded. In May this year, border police detained a 37-year-old Saudi man at Milan’s international airport after he drove a rented Maserati through the Spanish Steps in Rome and then abandoned it.
A month later, two American tourists were fined and temporarily expelled from Rome city center after damaging steps while riding an electric scooter.
Source: TSF
