Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni has reversed a decision to clear one of the capital's most famous squares of the artists who ply their trade there.
In November Veltroni decided to purge Piazza Navona, which is highly popular with tourists, of artists and hawkers in order to "safeguard the architectural and artistic quality and equilibrium of a unique place".
But the measure provoked a chorus of protests by the artists and those who considered them part of the square's magical charm.
This week said the painters and caricaturists could return to the piazza, which has Bernini's famous Four Rivers fountain at its centre. It was only a partial climb-down though.
The number of slots for artists will be slashed from 62 to 32, so they will have to alternative days, and the stall-holders will have to stay away completely. "The decision aims to make the artists' important activity compatible with the appearance of the square," Veltroni said.
"The (original) move sought to make visible Bernini's treasures and the square's architecture and stop the degradation that everyone admitted existed. I don't think Bernini would have liked the T-shirts on show". The hawkers and artists recently started returning to the square after the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) suspended the City's ban until it rules on an appeal they have lodged against it.
The City expects the court, which is expected to issue its sentence by January 30, to decide in its favour. If it does, the new regime, with half as many artists and no more hawkers, will then come into force. Piazza Navona is especially crowded at night with artists of varying talents offering to do on-the-spot portraits as souvenirs of Rome.
There are also dozens of Italians and immigrants selling cheap souvenirs, fake handbags and conjuring tricks while others offer to tell tourists' fortunes. Many feel the street vendors reflect Rome's typically festive, relaxed atmosphere.
But Veltroni agrees with residents' complaints that too many people are crowding into the baroque piazza every night, turning a delightful spot into a chaotic ruck. The City stresses that it is working to find other sites in the centre of Rome for the stall-holders evicted from the square.
Piazza Navona occupies the site of the ancient Roman Stadium of Domitian and contains Giacomo della Porta's Fontana del Moro and a much-loved Neptune fountain as well as Bernini's masterpiece.
