Rome Commissioner Francesco
Paolo Tronca cracked down on the costumed centurions to be seen
around the city's ancient monuments on Wednesday with an
ordinance banning them from posing for photographs with
tourists.
The men in leather sandals, pleated tunics, and armored
breastplates who pose with tourists for a fee can make several
hundreds of euros a day from the trade.
"The ban is imposed in the interests of security - in so
far as the people performing such activities often behave in
ways that are inappropriate, insistent and sometimes aggressive
- and to protect the decency of the city's artistic, historic
and monumental heritage," the ordinance read.
In September, a TV crew from Romania's Kanal D
were attacked and insulted by a group of men dressed as Roman
centurions at the Colosseum.
The culprits were caught on camera while trying to extort
100 euros from one of the reporters.
When the journalist refused, the fake centurions responded
with anti-Romanian racist epithets, insults, and threats.
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