Heading to Rome? BYO sword
Rome ain’t what it used to be.
Don’t get me wrong – I still find this city endlessly beguiling.
I love that you can stroll through 2000-year-old streets where Julius Caesar once walked, and marvel at ancient baths transformed into a church.
I love the open squares and the narrow streets, the ochre-painted palazzi and the dimly-lit wine bars, the sidewalk cafes and the way locals sashay past during
aperitivo hour.
But Rome is changing. As more and more tourists head here – 35 million a year on average – the city is trying new ways to control the chaos.
It started with the Pantheon, which introduced a five-euro entry fee last year.
Now there is talk that visitors will be charged a one-euro entry fee to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain when it opens after a major restoration program.
According to media reports, the idea is to stop tourists lounging on the monument while they eat ice-creams.
Rome, it is clear, wants tourists to treat its monuments with respect.
No wonder, then, that the city’s authorities are livid over Airbnb’s plan to stage gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum.
The idea is that 16 Airbnb users will get to take part in a mock battle in full gladiatorial garb in May next year.
The company paid US$1.5 million to the Colosseum Archaeological Park to stage the promotion.
Those vehemently opposed to the idea include the president of Rome’s Culture Commission and the city’s councillor for culture, Massimiliano Smeriglio, who described it as “a demeaning use of our historical-artistic heritage.”
Given the recent repeated incidents of tourists defacing the Colosseum, it’s hard not to agree: treating this ancient monument like a theme park is a ruinous idea.
One more thing
For 30 years, Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson has been exploring how we interact with our environments, often with mesmerising results. Istanbul Modern’s comprehensive retrospective, Olafur Eliasson: Your unexpected encounter, engages with the artist’s favourite themes including light, water, colour and movement. On until February 9, 2025.