Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens right in time for Vatican's Jubilee

Rome's iconic Trevi fountain re-opened to the public on Sunday after months of renovations, right in time for the inauguration of the Vatican's Jubilee Holy Year, set to take place throughout 2025.

Located in a high-traffic pedestrian area, the 18th-century monument is one of the capital's main attractions.

However, its location is also what contributed to its deterioration, contributing to limestone buildup and other issues in sections most exposed to water.

The renovations lasted roughly three months, and cost €327,000, according to authorities. The works focused on removing dirt, iron oxide and limescale from the monument, and also included waterproofing the fountain’s basin.

In an effort to enhance the visitor experience and prevent overcrowding, a new access system was introduced.

Rome's superintendent for cultural heritage, Claudio Parisi Presicce, said they had experimented with the new system to "re-establish a direct contact with the monument, a closer view that will allow the visitor to fully appreciate the whole story told by this monstrous, late-Baroque and proto-neoclassical monument."

Moving forward, staff will control the entrance to the monument, which will allow only 400 people at a time.

"We decided to regulate the flow of visitors, granting access to the base of the fountain, covering the entire perimeter of the basin, to 400 people at a time. This way, visitors will have ample opportunity to observe it and understand the values it embodies," Parisi Presicce added.

Visitors will now also have to pay an entree fee of €2, and will then have 30 minutes to enjoy the monument.

Tourists are once again able to throw coins into the fountain's basin, a tradition that generates an estimated €1.5 million each year, which gets donated to the Catholic charity Caritas.

Rome revamped for Vatican's Jubilee

The re-opening comes as the Jubilee, the Catholic Church's period of forgiveness and celebration, usually occurring every 25 to 50 years, is about to start at the Vatican City, right in the centre of Rome.

Pope Francis will formally inaugurate the Holy Year by pushing open the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve on Tuesday. The door will then remain open for an entire year to allow pilgrims to pass through.

Participating pilgrims visiting the Vatican will receive "indulgences," forgiving them for their sins.

Observing Catholics will also participate in Masses and other sacraments at any of the four papal basilicas in Rome or other sacred Jubilee sites while seeking forgiveness through works of charity, mercy, penance and abstention.

The last extraordinary Jubilee took place in 2016. This year, the Vatican expects roughly 38 million pilgrims to visit Rome to pass through the door.