Tour groups, temporary routes and toilets: the reshaping of Rome – photo essay

Photographer Lorenzo Grifantini looks at how the Italian capital’s historic centre has gradually reorganised itself around the uninterrupted flow of visitors and the expectations projected on to it By mid-morning, the area around the Trevi fountain is already difficult to cross. Visitors stop suddenly to take photographs while tour groups gather behind raised umbrellas, and security staff redirect the flow of people through temporary barriers placed around the monument. Nearby, souvenir kiosks sell rosaries, plastic gladiator helmets, bottled water and magnets in the summer heat. Tourists pose for photographs in front of the Trevi fountain Top left: visitors gather in front of the Trevi fountain. Top right: the fountain during restoration works. Above: a tourist takes a selfie at the fountain while eating an ice-cream Rome has always depended on the people passing through it. Pilgrims, tourists and travellers have crossed the city for centuries, following routes that were familiar long before they arrived. What feels different today is the scale of that movement, and the way the historic centre has gradually reorganised itself around it. Crowds gather in St Peter’s Square durin