Rome is set to remove souvenir stands and mobile snack bars from some of the city's most famous monuments after they have been branded an eyesore.
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Souvenir stalls - which sell key-rings, decorative plates, figurines and other trinkets - will be removed from their posts in front of Rome's monuments, as well as caminon bars (mobile snack bars). Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi said the changes are intended to protect Rome's heritage and also improve safety in the immediate vicinity of tourist-dense places such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.
Seventeen such stalls will be closed down, though eight of them have been granted permission to continue trading on streets away from the monuments. Rome council will also remove vans that sell visitors snacks, sandwiches and drinks near the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus.
The ban came into effect in 1 January, 2020. According to the mayor, the stalls "ruin the image of Rome."
"For years, the monuments of the city have been tarnished by vendors who sell drinks, panini and trinkets in front of Rome’s architectural jewels. This is no longer tolerable."
Other steps Raggi has taken to improve Rome's image include prohibiting people from sitting on the Spanish Steps, dipping into the fountains, walking around bare-chested and eating snacks in front of the city's celebrated monuments. Illegal street-trading and ticket-touting outside tourist sites have also been banned.
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