“This decision to introduce a cheap entrance ticket to Italy’s most visited cultural site is based on common sense,” said Sangiuliano, who has not yet announced the exact date of its entry into force. . For the moment, entrance to the Pantheon is via a QR code after booking on the site in order to avoid long queues. It is expected that 70% of the proceeds of the sale will go to the Ministry of Culture, which promises to send them, among other things, to the maintenance of the monument and to the reconstruction works, the rest of the money will go to the Diocese of Rome , who will use it to help the poor.
Considering that around nine million people visit the Pantheon each year, we’re talking about very, very impressive numbers. As clarified by the Ministry of Culture, residents of Rome, people under 18 and teachers accompanying school groups are exempt from payment. In this case, people under 25 will pay two euros. In addition, admission will be free for believers who come to services and other “religious events”. Notably, other important churches in the “Eternal City”, including St. Peter’s Basilica, are still free.
Tourists, who are already forced to shell out an impressive tourist tax to stay in the capital’s hotels, are mostly perplexed by the authorities’ decision to introduce tickets to the Pantheon, openly calling it a “theft in full day”. In their opinion, this attraction is a public domain and not a private shop.