The Italian capital continues to wage its battle against fast food. Following the controversy kicked up by the opening of a McDonald's close to the Vatican over two years ago, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities has just banned the construction of another location by the Baths of Caracalla, a Unesco World Heritage site.
A new tug of war is opposing Rome and McDonald's. The American fast food empire saw its authorization to build a new location near the Baths of Caracalla revoked. The restaurant was slated to open by the end of 2019. Rome's mayor, Virginia Raggi, even took to Twitter to explain her decision, demonstrating the extent of the polemic.
Located a stone's throw from the Circus Maximus, these ruins remain among the most important vestiges of the Roman Empire. The baths were inaugurated in 217 AD, under the reign of Emperor Caracalla. Romans would congregate there to spend time in the public baths, but also the library, and to worship a number of divinities.
This is not Rome's first stand against McDonald's: back in 2016, cardinals called on Pope Francis to intervene against the opening of one of the chain's restaurants in the vicinity of the Vatican. The chain was ultimately allowed to go ahead and opened the location in early 2017, albeit with a more subdued façade than the typical McDonald's.
The fraught relationship between the fast food behemoth and Italian authorities has been raging for a while now. The opening of a McDonald's location on Florence's Piazza del Duomo had already stirred up quite a controversy, as had its expulsion from Milan's famous Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade.
Rome's city hall has already adopted a series of measures to protect its historical sites by asking tourists to enjoy their pizza off the streets, and away from the city's famous fountains, especially during the summer season.
