Entrance to religious services in
the Pantheon will remain free even if an entrance fee to the
iconic Roman temple is introduced, a Vatican official said
Wednesday. "I'm confident a solution will be found," said Msgr Liberio Andreatta, head of religious buildings for the Roman Vicariate.
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini two weeks ago mooted the introduction of introducing a Pantheon entry fee by the end of the current legislative term in February 2018.
He said any fee would be low.
The minister stressed that seven million people visit Emperor Augustus' temple to all the Roman gods every year and it had high running costs.
The Pantheon, now a Catholic church, is one of the few ancient Roman sites where entry is currently free.