Rome Bans Gladiators Outside The Coliseum

[Chillout]

Anyone that had visited the Coliseum in Rome prior to March 2012 would have most definitely encountered one of the groups of Gladiators that used to pose for tourists outside the ancient building.

A decision was made by officials in Rome to ban the gladiators back in March 2012 due to many negative complaints and scams. The ban expired at the end of November this year but has now been reintroduced for a second time.

Some tourists were asked to pay as much as 40 euros for a photo which seems to be very overpriced.

I can confirm on a recent trip to Rome that I did not see any gladiators outside the Coliseum but there were many ticket touts trying the sell tours which can be quite annoying.

 

[Gabe]

I haven't been for a while, but I agree it looks tacky and disrepectful. Tourists are often targeted already, and it doesn't seem right to me.

I'm not sure why tourists would pay in any case, or that they find it novel. It's bad enough being scammed in over priced restaurants and tours, and that is one thing that put me off Rome. I love the history, just not the dodging people who keep approaching you.

 

[Chillout]

I think they should introduce some kind of limit on those selling tours too as there are far too many people trying to sell you them on the street. The coliseum is not as bad as the Vatican but it can becoming very annoying at times.

 

[Holmes22]

Well I think that I am in favor of this. I am trying to remember if there was a large amount of them when I visited there, but I am not really remembering all that well.. I can recall a few, but I guess even that is probably too many. I wonder if there are a lot of people opposed to this.

 

[Gabe]

I think they should introduce some kind of limit on those selling tours too as there are far too many people trying to sell you them on the street. The coliseum is not as bad as the Vatican but it can becoming very annoying at times.

Don't they have to be authorized? I do think there should be a limit because people just can't get around at times. I guess it's an issue with group sizes and when it's not a ticketed venue it's harder to control. I know living in Florence, there were days I couldn't even walk in the streets, but what can you do? I ended up working around things and went out before the tourists arrived, or on days when they weren't around.

 

[to7update]

I think that these sort of bans is important because if we want to have a good experience we don't want to be deceived by a group of opportunists. Truth has to be told though, only those that want pay that price for a picture, even so I still think it's a good preventive measure.

 

[pwarbi]

While it might not be right, this kind of thing goes on in nearly all tourist hot-spots in the world and I'm not sure that banning them is going to be such a good idea. I'm more for regulating the gladiators rather than banning them completely, as while I'm sure Italians don't want to watch tourists get overcharged, the gladiator is one of the main things that people will go to Rome to see, so it's affecting their enjoyment if they are banned altogether I would have thought.

 

[to7update]

That's the fact, wherever there are tourists there is a crowd looking to make some money. You do have a good point @pwarbi, if there is a demand, nothing like organizing the offer, meaning, if people want a picture with the gladiators maybe only gladiators with credentials and standard prices would be a good idea.

 

[pwarbi]

I think that some of these cities that attract the tourists could organise things a bit better as a lot of the time you'll visit somewhere and be charged a certain price before later on finding out that you have been overcharged because it wasn't official. While there's nothing wrong with the local people cashing in as well as the tourist board, at the same time if people are going to be putting the tourists off coming in the first place then obviously things do need to be done.

 

[to7update]

When I go to Rome, after reading this, I will eventually avoid these gladiators because I don't know what to expect. If on the other hand you guys told me that in Rome I could take a picture with gladiators and that would cost me, let's say, 5€, I might be considering to do it.