Page 4 - Italina-American Herald - January 2025

4 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JANUARY 2025 ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
TRAVEL
Advisory: For visitors to Italy, there’s much to know in 2025
Continued from front page
This year’s Jubilee has been titled
Peregrinantes in Spem (Pilgrims in Hope) and
will officially start on Christmas Eve 2024,
with the opening of the Holy Doors of the
four Papal Basilicas of Rome. The doors are
normally sealed by mortar and cement from
the inside so that they cannot be opened
except during a jubilee. These four shrines,
where the most important celebrations will
take place, are San Pietro, San Giovanni in
Laterano, Santa Maria Maggiore, and San
Paolo Fuori le Mura.
On the first night, by tradition, the pope
is carried through the Holy Door of St. Peter
holding a candle in his left hand and a cross
in his right. On Dec. 29 the pope will open
the Holy Door of St. John Lateran, on Jan.
1, 2025, he will open the door at St. Mary
Major and on the eve of Epiphany, Jan. 5,
he will open the door at St. Paul’s Outside
the Walls. The pope has expressed his hope
to personally open a fifth “Holy Door” in a
prison to offer a symbol of closeness to all
those incarcerated.
There are additional churches which
have been chosen as holy sites to visit and
a number of other religious celebrations
throughout the year. The Vatican Museums
and Sistine Chapel are included as are
catacombs, in particular those of San Callisto
and San Sebastiano. Rome will also host
cultural events, exhibitions and concerts
and the city has been undergoing massive
renovation and development projects to
prepare for a higher influx of visitors.
Two of the biggest changes for visitors are
requirements for digital fingerprinting and
an entry form which must be filled out and
approved before you even get on a plane.
U.S. citizens traveling to Italy and other EU
countries will now have to pay an “entry
fee” through the ETIAS system which will
launch sometime in 2025. This is essentially
a travel permit for which you pay 7 euros.
Once this goes into effect you can no longer
board a plane without this document. This
does not guarantee you can enter Europe
because you must also be in comply with the
EES system. The EES, or European Union’s
Entry/Exit system, was supposed to go into
effect in November but has not yet been
implemented.
Visitors will now have to have their
fingerprints taken and registered before they
can go through customs at a European entry
site. Americans can only stay in Europe for
a maximum of 90 days, but these digitized
records, which are linked to your passport,
will remain on file for three years. If you enter
Italy, you can also travel to other countries in
the Schengen Area which includes 28 other
countries.
The Spanish Steps used to be a popular place for gathering and picture-taking, but sitters
will have to sit someplace else now. | ADOBE
If you are traveling to Rome this year,
especially during the high season, plan
carefully in advance! The increase in visitors
will make it harder to find accommodation.
Also be prepared to pay a higher nightly
“tourist tax,” which is currently around 5
euros per night at a 3-star hotel to around 10
euros per night per person at a 5-star hotel.
This year that fee may increase at least 2
euros per night and even higher. Some travel
experts are advising travelers to book earlier
and also to consider staying outside the city
center.
While it won’t be fully open for several
more years, Rome is finally seeing progress
towards its new Metro line C, a driverless
train which has been in the works for over
two decades. Line C is set to add more stops
beneath some of the city’s most popular
heritage sites such as the Colosseum (which
will connect with the B line and open
sometime this year), Trajan’s Column, and the
Basilica of Maxentius (at the Roman Forum)
as well as other important palaces, churches,
and the Vatican.
A visit to the Trevi fountain will also be
different. Some visitors to the Eternal City
were shocked to find the iconic landmark
“turned off” last October. The water was
drained, and the site was roped off for
restoration work as the city and cultural
authorities planned to begin charging a fee
of about 2 euros per person, along with
timed entries, for visitors to experience this
stunning treasure. During the closure, visitors
had to “walk by” on a catwalk and had to
throw their coins into what many have called
a “municipal swimming pool.” The project
was expected to be completed within five
weeks so it should be finished as of this
writing.
The magic of relaxing on the Spanish
Steps to take in the view is also gone. In order
to preserve this UNESCO site, visitors are no
longer permitted to sit or lay down on any of
the 135 steps which were restored in 2016 to
the tune of 1.6 million euros by Bulgari, an
Italian luxury brand. Fines can for violators of
the ban range from $280 to $448 if someone
soils or damages the steps.
This historic stairway connects the
Church of Trinità dei Monti to the Piazza di
Spagna below. It has long been a popular
place to gather and is often the venue
for fashion shows. In the piazza you will
find a charming water fountain called La
Fontana della Barcaccia, the Column of the
Immaculate Conception, the Sallustiano
Obelisk as well as cafes and high-end luxury
stores located both in the piazza and along
the famous Via dei Condotti.
Not too far away, the beautiful Piazza
Navona has seen its famous fountains
brought back to their original glory. Both
the Fountain of the Moor and the Fountain
of Neptune were shut down for thorough
cleaning as was the Fountain of the Four
Rivers in the center of the Piazza. A fourth
fountain in front of the Pantheon, simply
called La Fontana del Pantheon, was turned
back on at the end of November. If you plan
to visit the Pantheon, which you should
not miss, be aware that entry requires a 5
euro fee with a timed ticket. They can be
bought online but also at a window near the
entrance.
Other bans and changes are now in force
in numerous cities of Italy. In Florence there
is now a ban on eating in the streets of Via de’
Neri, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano
and Via della Ninna. These are the most
heavily congested streets where there are
numerous food shops and the highly popular
Gelateria dei Neri. Some residents and shop
owners have pushed back against this policy
with the suggestion to offer benches and
more trash cans as a better solution. The
proposed fines could be up to 500 euros.
The Holy Door of San Pietro will open on
Christmas Eve. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Holy Door of Santa Maria Maggiore
will be opened on Jan. 1. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
New requirements
for visitors: digital
fingerprinting and an
entry form which must
be approved before you
even get an a plane.