The first day of green passes in Rome? Long lines and inconvenience. What the guides say

The first day of green passes at museums and monuments in Rome? A disaster, according to AGTA Associazione Guide Turistiche Abilitate (Association of Licensed Tourist Guides), which is speaking out on the inconveniences experienced throughout Italy in accessing monuments due to the green certificate requirement. “It was predictable,” the guides write in a note. “This morning, the new rule resulted in a very long line to access major public tourist sites. In Rome, the line for the Colosseum was about 45 minutes in the early part of the morning, but it became an hour and a half for those who got in line at 11:30 a.m., now while at 1 p.m. it was no longer calculable because it was 350 meters long, in two lanes. And it should be noted that at the Colosseum one can enter only by reservation, which is on a timetable and has its own extra cost in addition to the ticket; so today visitors, despite having duly made their reservations online and pre-purchased their tickets, found themselves standing in a 45-90 minute line under the sun only to enter at a completely different time from the budgeted one. At the Pantheon, 40-45 minute lines. At Pompeii, ditto, in the early morning hours. Very organized, on the other hand, the service at the Vatican Museums, where people with reservations queued for 10 minutes in all.”

“Causing the loss of time with respect to the PRE-Green Pass,” the guides point out, “the absolute insufficiency of the staff in charge, the frequency of technical hiccups (difficulty in reading QRs depending on the source) that lengthen the control time, and people claiming to enter even without the Green Pass, many of them saying they didn’t know anything about it that it also served for the monuments.”

Explains Isabella Ruggiero, president of AGTA: “From what we have heard in the last week on TV and radio channels, almost constantly focused only on the Green Pass for restaurants, we are not surprised. There certainly hasn’t been a media campaign related to monuments. And unfortunately, most tourists, including our fellow citizens, do not inform themselves by going to the sites of the various monuments. However. shall we talk about the contribution made in this by the Ministry of Culture? Last night I went to the website of the Ministry of Culture thinking that I would find there for sure all the info related to entry to museums and places of culture (mind you they are not identical to those for entering Italy). What did I find? On the home page were scrolling beautiful photos and blazing news about UNESCO sites, Parma capital of culture, discoveries in Pompeii and much more, but nothing about the new rule in effect as of today; I consulted the section below and the one below again, but nothing. Just now I went back to the site and nothing has changed. Let us not be surprised, however, if hundreds of visitors blocked the lines ranting because they were not let into the museums.”

“The regulations then,” the AGTA president continues, “are many more than we think and it is not easy to disentangle according to the various cases: we noticed especially a great confusion in those who only did the swab, because everyone assumed they could enter with the certificate issued by the laboratory, which instead is not equivalent to the Green Certification (the specific 48-hour post-printing one) and they had no idea how to download the Green Pass starting from the laboratory certificate. Let’s not talk about Italians residing and vaccinated abroad, for whom a specific Circular of the Ministry of Health came out only on August 4 and that almost none of them now in Italy know about.”

According to Ruggiero, it is above all the different application of the rules that creates inconvenience and problems especially for those working in the field. “If the rules were really identical everywhere, it would be enough to learn them well. Even with regard to the places of application there is a certain personal interpretation: in churches the Green Pass is not required, to the point that it has not been introduced even in St. Peter’s (the basilica most visited by tourists ever), but in San Petronio, in Bologna, today they ask for the Green Pass from visitors who are part of groups with a guide, because if they enter alone it can be assumed that they enter to pray, but if there is a guide then no.”

AGTA guides in Rome have even organized themselves with a “newsletter” that has been circulated via Whatsapp to Members since this morning to give updates on the length of lines at various monuments in the Capital, in the wake of the radio “Green” Wave. Ruggiero concludes, “We explained a few days ago in an article (https://www.finestresullarte.info/opinioni/perche-introdurre-green-pass-nei-musei-e-una-pessima-idea) why we believe that at this time the Green Pass requirement also for outdoor museums and archaeological parks is not a good idea. Let us reiterate: not because we are not in favor of Green Certification; on the contrary, we strongly believe in the need for vaccination, which is currently the only way out of the pandemic. It is just that the current state of Cultural Heritage in Italy cannot afford this standard, because it does not have the necessary personnel and organization. And so the Green Pass will result in major inconveniences for users (tourists) and further closures of sections or entire smaller sites. Personally, I would like the Green Pass on public transportation as well. Those who simplistically approve of Green Certification in museums have no idea of the state of most Italian sites. At the Colosseum today you see the lines, but hardly any of you will notice when they close individual sections and other less famous monuments.”

Pictured: the line to enter the Roman Forum this morning

The first day of green passes in Rome? Long lines and inconvenience. What the guides say

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.