Tourists delight at Rome Spanish Steps pedestrian zone

Drivers complain of rerouting away from central tourism hot-spot

(ANSA) - Rome, August 4 - Tourists hailed as "wonderful" and "marvelous" the implementation Monday of a new pedestrian zone near Rome's popular Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna. "Cars are not allowed? I think that is right and normal," commented Thomas, who said he was from Germany and vacationing in Rome with his family. "In Rome, which is an open-air museum, it should not be otherwise". The new plan, which closes the tourism hot-spot to most cars from August through November, threatens drivers with fines of up to 80 euros if they enter the new pedestrian zone.

A fine of about half that amount will be applied to anyone who tries to park in the area, excluding residents and electric vehicles. Public transportation will still be permitted in the new pedestrian zone. The zone, reaching as far as the Via del Corso, was not popular with everyone. Some local residents complained that closing the square entirely will force more traffic onto other nearby streets, such as Via Condotti. Delivery truck drivers also complained that the traffic restrictions will make it harder for them to unload goods for stores in the area.

Meanwhile, a major retailers association called for city authorities to closely monitor the area to ensure it does not become an informal 'souk' for street vendors. Taxi drivers seemed divided, with at least one welcoming the closure, adding that cabbies had been warned in advance of the change. "A place like this needs to be returned to the people," said the driver. The closure will encompass about 15 small side streets in the area as well as most of Via del Babuino and part of Via di Ripetta, which both branch off from the Piazza di Spagna. The city of Rome, on its official website, boasted that the vehicle closure will help restore the image of the area to that shown in the popular 1953 film "Roman Holiday", starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.

Parts of the film were shot around the Spanish Steps. "At the time of Roman Holiday, (director) William Wyler's film, around the Piazza di Spagna Gregory Peck (playing the role of) Joe Bradley went quietly around on a Vespa," said a city statement on the municipal website. "But it was 1953 and in Rome, Vespas, Lambrettas and little else circulated," the statement continued. The move comes after Rome's city council agreed last year to strict limits on traffic along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, connecting the iconic Colosseum with Piazza Venezia and running through the Roman Forum.