Centurions wait to pose with tourists on the Spanish steps at Piazza di Spagna in Rome Photo: AFP, File  Now the city council has announced a crackdown, decreeing that it is illegal for the fake Romans to be photographed with tourists.  “Gladiators” and “legionaries” found contravening the law will risk a fine of €400.  They will also have their swords, sandals, scabbards and togas confiscated on the spot. “With the real risk that they will be left standing in their underpants,” commented La Repubblica, a daily newspaper.  The decree was issued by Francesco Paolo Tronca, Rome’s commissioner, who is at the helm of the city council pending the holding of elections for a new mayor.  Ignazio Marino, the former mayor, was forced to resign last month over an expenses scandal.  Mr Tronca is keen to clean up the image of the city in time for the start of Pope Francis’ special Year of Mercy, a calendar of religious events which begins on December 8.  He accused the costumed touts of “frequently behaving in ways that are inappropriate, insistent and sometimes aggressive".  Banning them from charging money for photos would “protect the decorum of the city's artistic, historical and monumental heritage".  A man dressed as a Roman centurion Photo: AFP  In September, a Romanian television crew was insulted and physically assaulted by a group of fake legionaries after they filmed them outside the Colosseum demanding €100 for a photograph.  At the Trevi Fountain, there was no sign of the half dozen or so fake centurions who normally tout for business among the crowds.  “They’ve all disappeared – at least for now,” said a policeman watching over the piazza.  The commissioner also announced a crackdown on the touts who illegally sell tickets to tourists at places like the Vatican and the Colosseum, as well as the three-wheeled rickshaws in which visitors are peddled around the city for a fee.
The costumed touts intimidate and hustle tourists at the Colosseum, the   Spanish Steps and other prime attractions around the capital