The answer is yes and the damage is €2 per night for a maximum of 10 nights.

Until 1965 bananas were considered a luxury item and therefore taxed.

The most you will ever pay is €20 – the price of a pizza in fairly good restaurant.

The Rome City Tax was introduce at the beginning of the year to help the administration pay for the upkeep of the city.

One can then assume that Rome’s authorities are not happy with the millions of Euros that tourists spend in the City when they visit.

Romans are relieved. For once they are not the ones getting taxed. A quick look at the National Consumer’s Union website reminds us of the ridiculous taxes they have had to endure:

• Bananas – These were considered a luxury item between 1965 and 1991
• Coffee – When this tax was introduced in 1917 Italians soon discovered that you could make coffee out of chicory. The tax was also abolished in 1991
• Chicory – Introduced in 1924 to discourage those who were using it instead of coffee
• Balconies – Introduced in 1931 because they ‘insisted’ over roads.
• Gardens – Still applicable today

And if you ever plan to develop march land into something useful there is a tax for that too.

To be fair, Rome isn’t the only city to tax for occupancy. New York City has been doing it for a while now and it isn’t as straight forward as Rome’s version.

So, next time you’re in Rome visting the Trevi fountain you may think twice before throwing your hard earned Euros in.

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