All roads might lead to Rome , but when they reach here, they are likely to be dug up, shut off or under renovation. Tourists have been warned the Italian city is going through a monumental facelift ahead of a likely 32 million tourists for the 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year. The Vatican holiday is putting Rome’s antiquated infrastructure under enormous strain.
Taking advantage of the event, a special celebration traditionally held every quarter of a century, Rome has pooled billions of euros of state and European funds to overhaul tourist sites, transport hubs, parks, streets and even its rubbish bins. The frenzy of work has snarled traffic, to the fury of residents, and left some visitors this summer feeling short-changed as they weave their way through myriad building sites, but Mayor Roberto Gualtieri promises it will all be worth it. “This is an unmissable opportunity to make structural changes .
.. and transform Rome,” Gualtieri told Reuters this week.
“We are going to get a more sustainable, inclusive and innovative city that enhances its extraordinary heritage.” A record 3,200 public construction works are under way, he said, including 322 projects that are deemed essential for the Jubilee, such as the creation of what Gualtieri promises will be “one of the most beautiful squares in the world” by the Vatican. “We knew work was going on, but we didn’t realise there would be quite so much.
It is a bit of a bummer,” said Tom Pagano, a tourist from Sacra.
