Final stop to centurions in front of Colosseum: appeal to Council of State dismissed

Centurions who, in Rome, stationed in front of the Colosseum to take photos with tourists are permanently banned from the historic center. It all stems from an ordinance issued by Mayor Virginia Raggi, who on July 17 had ordered “the prohibition of any activity that involves the availability of being portrayed as a subject in historical clothing (e.g. as centurions) in photographs or films, for monetary consideration.” Some of the centurions, who had formed an association, had appealed to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court to request a suspension of the ordinance: the Regional Administrative Court, however, had rejected their request.

The centurions, however, did not lose heart, and demanding that their activity be recognized as analogous to that of street performers, they appealed to the Council of State. The fifth section of the court, however, dismissed the appeal, issuing anorder stating that “the City Council based the measure adopted on historical heritage protection requirements, which were indeed not unreasonably evaluated and certainly prevailed over the protection requirements set out by the plaintiffs.” The final stop to the centurions is thus looming.

Virgina Raggi expressed satisfaction with a message on her Facebook page: “We put an end to the phenomenon of the fake centurions present in front of the monuments of Rome. The Council of State has confirmed the ruling of the Tar and rejected the appeal against our ordinance. We were right. We needed to put an end to this practice that has been an outrage to decorum and a damage to the image of our city for years. We are happy that the supreme administrative judge has ruled that the needs of protection of our monuments prevail: it is a recognition of everyone’s right to enjoy the beauty that only Rome can offer without being constantly annoyed.”

Final stop to centurions in front of Colosseum: appeal to Council of State dismissed

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