Restoration information courtesy of Roma Si Trasforma, the official renovation map of Rome’s Giubileo construction
Scaffolding. Orange construction netting. Re-routing polizia cars and traffic jams waltzing to the blare of taxi horns and shouting pedestrians.
Rome in 2025 is not the tranquil la dolce vita capital savored by Julia Roberts in “Eat, Pray, Love” (2010). This year is Jubilee Year at the Vatican, a time of pilgrimage for Catholics celebrating 2,025 years of Christ’s Incarnation. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Rome should expect 35 million tourists, almost more than double its 2023 numbers. For Catholics, it’s the Pilgrimage of Hope. For Romans, it’s the year of chaos.
The city of Rome chose to renovate its monuments, fountains, and strade to prepare—but too little too late, as most of the construction chaos is expected to continue well into Jubilee year.
“A record 3,200 public construction works are underway,” explains a July 2024 Reuters article, “Antiquated Rome revamps ahead of expected Jubilee millions.” The quote is a paraphrase of what was said by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who added, “This is an unmissable opportunity to make structural changes…and transform Rome. We are going to get a more sustainable, inclusive, and innovative city that enhances its extraordinary heritage.”
Whether or not it’s sustainable, the city-wide makeover will certainly transform Rome—to the tune of 1.3 billion euros. This does not include 3 billion post-COVID funds from the EU, nor the 4 billion euro it is costing to dig a third Roman metro line, which will link Saint Peter’s and Saint John Lateran’s Basilicas right through il centro itself.
Ready or not, here is a run-down of Rome’s renovation ripples (as of January 1, 2025):
Baldacchino di San Pietro: The bronze Baldacchino housing St. Peter’s remains got a make-over in the fall of 2024, ending in October, which restored the glorious exterior to new life in its original gold leaf.
The Pantheon’s Fountain: Located in Piazza della Rotonda, the fountain facing the Pantheon now boasts new, smoother-flowing waters and cleaner, sharper marble. The last time someone touched up the fountain was in 1575, when it was being sculpted by Leonardo Sormani himself.
Trevi Fountain: Temporary steel bridges were constructed around the fountain during renovations in the last half of 2024, an eyesore that tourists and residents alike are happy to do away with in the new year.
Piazza Navona Fountains: Fountain of the Moor and Fountain of Neptune The fully-restored fountains flank the main Fountain of the Four Rivers, Bernini’s 17th-century masterpiece that saw its own restoration project, completed in December 2024. However, a full renovation of the piazza itself will take up to 4-5 years, due to the construction of a new metro station.
Piazza Farnese: Here, the piazza got a full make-over, including restoration of monument profiles to reinforce surfaces, bacteria and algae disinfection, anti-graffiti coating, waterproofing water basins, antioxidant metal treatment, plastering inspection, and aesthetic touch ups, among others.
Piazza Venezia: Stuffed with the most scaffolding, traffic dividers, and construction tape, Piazza Venezia is where Metro Line C is getting an all-new extension, as well as where archaeological sites are excavating. Expect blocked views of the grand Vittorio Emmanuelle II monument, well into the next decade. That’s right, decade.
Fountain of the Four Lions, Piazza del Popolo: The fountain’s brick and travertine roofs will be chemically and mechanically cleaned, treated with biocidal, and restored with “non-functional grouting,” along with anti-graffiti measures. Renovations are expected to finish in 2025’s second quarter.
Castel Sant’Angelo’s angel bridges: Completion of the statues’ restoration is expected in the first half of 2025, as its angels are wrapped in scaffolding so the stone sculptures can be cleaned and restored.
Fontana delle Tartarughe: The fountains will be cleaned and enhanced, using a “microclimate monitoring system” that will allow the city to track environmental data from the fountains to control its conditions and maintain preservation for years to come.
For Rome’s full renovation map, visit Roma Si Transforma at romasitrasforma.it/en
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