Rome bans ‘messy eating’ in spate of new tourism rules

Italian ice - cream cone held in hand on the background of Piazza Navona in Rome , Italy
By Alexandra Coulton


Tourists visiting Rome will need to mind their outdoor table manners or risk a serious fine under a spate of new rules introduced in the Italian capital last week.

As part of an Italian-wide effort to manage tourism, the new rules seek to discourage anti-social behaviour like messy eating outside monuments, dragging suitcases down historic steps and placing your mouth around the metal spout on fountains (which, if you ask us, is pretty bloody gross anyway).

Many tourists around the Fontana Di Trevi fountain at the Piazza Di Trevi.

Rome’s city council introduced the rules as an update to existing legislation that dates back to 1946 with aims to improve city life for both residents and tourists, according to Lonely Planet.

Penalties will also be introduced for jumping in water fountains, walking around bare-chested, attaching ‘love padlocks’ to bridges and singing or busking on public transport.

The city is also cracking down on illegal street-trading and ticket-touting outside tourist sites, banning organised pub crawls and advertising “skip-the-line” tours outside monuments.

There is no word yet on how these new rules will be imposed or what the fines will look like, but Lonely Planet reported police will now be patrolling historic sites.

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