Rome, Green Passes in monuments: ranking of the best and worst

Ten days after the entry into force of the mandatory Green Pass in monuments, we try to make an initial assessment of the organization in museums in Rome, which, with some of the most crowded and therefore most difficult to manage monuments in Italy, confirms itself as the city with the most critical, but also virtuous examples. At the top of the Capital’s excellent sites for the (far from easy) organization of the Green Pass are the Borghese Gallery, the Colosseum Archaeological Park and the Vatican Museums (the latter, however, are not Italian). At the Galleria Borghese, the managers managed the forces at their disposal excellently, allowing them to carry out very thorough controls without making it a burden on visitors; at the Colosseum and Roman Forum, after a terrible first day that had seen very long lines, the Park’s managers managed to organize a system that works to perfection, despite the fact that it is the most visited monument in Italy and presents the complication of 2 separate areas; the Vatican Museums, which record very high numbers like the Colosseum, have set up a simple and effective system from the first day.

On the other hand, Pantheon (the absolute worst) and Castel Sant’Angelo stand out at the bottom of the ranking. At the Pantheon, the lines to enter the monument were already considerable in recent months due to the quota numbers and temperature and clothing control (being also a Catholic church, a strict “dress code” is in force and women with bare shoulders are not let in); since the Green Pass requirement also came into effect on August 6, they have gotten even worse, due to the insufficient number of personnel in charge of controls. The line on the first few days was 30 minutes, then increased to 40; on Saturday the 14th it became 50 minutes; yesterday it was over an hour. As you can see, instead of taking action and improving, it is getting worse by the day.

Aug. 14, Pantheon interior and checkpoint queue

The problem is not the Green Pass itself, but the total lack of organization in managing and dealing with all the sanitary measures that are now so many in the monuments: a very heavy quota, temperature and Green Pass control, compulsory reservation on weekends to be made by the day before. It is because of the pandemic that in the Pantheon an obligatory circular itinerary has been imposed in the monument, limiting the area of travel and, consequently, the very low number of visitors allowed at the same time and, finally, even the obligation of reservations on weekends. Such regulations will remain for a long time to come, and they must be managed well, whether we like it or not. One cannot think of imposing 40-50 minute waits for the foreseeable future as if they are inevitable and as if there is no alternative. If at other equally famous monuments they have succeeded in eliminating lines, while managing sites that do over 8,000 admissions a day, with paying audiences, with tickets of various types and with mandatory time reservations to be met, then they should succeed at the Pantheon as well, where you don’t even pay for a ticket and so there are 3 controls to pass instead of 5.

Certainlymore staff is needed. It is absurd that after the lines of the past few days we continue to keep only 3 people at the controls: one for reservation, one for Green Pass, and one for temperature. However, there is also a need for organizational skills, common sense and attention to the public in those at the top. It is not enough to apply the ministries’ regulations to the letter to do one’s duty. Lines of more than 10 minutes are not an option; they are an indication of a problem, and those in charge should be alarmed and take action. The mandatory reservation on weekends and holidays (by ministerial decree) then deserves a separate discussion. On Saturdays and Sundays in the Pantheon one can enter only under the condition of having booked at least one day in advance. Even if the monument inside is empty and even if there are still seats available, reservations can no longer be made the same day.

To make a mockery of the compulsory reservation, however, on weekends there is more line and more confusion than during weekdays, and there is not even the slightest idea of keeping to the schedule. First of all, because so many people don’t know about this rule, as it is not publicized and widespread; and even knowing about it, it is even difficult to find the site on your own where you have to make the Pantheon reservation: it is not intuitive at all. This is a fact that we practitioners know. Those who visit the city on their own arrive there unprepared, partly because it has always been a ticketless and free monument, and only at the last moment do they realize they cannot get in. In addition, none of the staff manages the line and warns those in line; most importantly, no one checks reservation times, allowing them to enter at the appointed time. We know that compulsory reservation is not decided independently by directorates but by ministerial decree; however, we wonder how long no one wants to object against this nonsensical rule. That it is nonsensical is shown by the lines at the Pantheon: if the rule was designed to avoid assemblages outside monuments, then it has failed, because people do not know about it and they all get in line anyway; if, on the other hand, you consider it logical, then take action so that tourists do not stay in line 50 minutes only to be sent away at the last minute. If at other sites like Pompeii there is no such problem, perhaps there is a different way to handle this rule as well.

Notwithstanding the fact that Italy fortunately has thousands of very small museums and archaeological sites with few visitors and therefore easily manageable and well organized, the impression for those who know the real situation of the great monuments (the ones for which until 2019 we were complaining about too much tourism) is that they have been turned into fortresses to be conquered: as if someone from the inside is having fun playing on a video game, to see how many visitors they can take down before they enter: level 1 the clothing, level 2 the temperature, level 3 the Green Pass, level 4 the mandatory reservation but only on weekends and only for those who have found the right site! The lines are not only an unnecessary torture for visitors, especially in the warmer months, but are the tool that fuels squatting and illegal tourism. There is a small group in Piazza della Rotonda that sells tours led by squatters to foreign tourists complete with “skip the line” and "reservation," because with various ploys they make a golden business on the backs of the disorganization of one of Italy’s most important public monuments.

We cannot fail to devote a few words to Castel Sant’Angelo, a monument to which the management has given a new route and, with health regulations, hourly entry every hour and a half, two elements that we had hailed as extremely positive. On the other hand, however, staggered bookings every hour and a half make no sense unless visitors are forced to leave the monument so that those on the next shift can enter at the appointed time. Instead, long lines are created here as well, because for one who enters another visitor must leave. Yet the monument is huge, with large open-air spaces and only a few small rooms. Really, can’t alternative solutions be found for a better flow? We cannot believe that they plan to enforce sanitary regulations by keeping visitors outside the castle walls as plague victims, perhaps counting on the sterilizing power of solar heat.

As a trade association and as individual guides we are asking all visitors to abide by the rules; indeed, for days now we have even been explaining by e-mail to our clients and agencies in many countries all the details and regulations (far from simple, given the various exceptions and constant updates). However, we ask that the Ministry and the Directorates employ the necessary personnel to implement what the government has decided without negatively affecting those who wish to visit the monuments and who by doing so also offer a breath of fresh air to cultural heritage, tourism and the many categories that live there. And we offer total willingness to work with the directorates to submit practical and constructive proposals, based on the experience we have in the field.

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