ROME -- An order to stop centurion impersonators and rickshaws swarming the area near the Colosseum has been placed, but is yet to receive the Mayor’s official consent. 

The order, when finalised, will forbid the ancient romans and their fellow charioteers from crowding up the centre, with fines of up to 400 euros for those who fail to comply. 

The so-called ‘centurions’, many of whom work without proper permits, have been known to approach tourists out of the blue before demanding up to 50 euros for a classical snap. In one incident, a Romanian TV crew were charged 100 euros, and then threatened when they refused to pay up.

The crackdown follows numerous complaints by female tourists, who say the lecherous centurions take advantage of their posing to make undesirable and often vulgar advances.

Meanwhile, rickshaw drivers gathered around the foot of the Colosseum are said to offer tours of the capital for 30 euros. 

Adriano Meloni, Economic Minister for Rome, says he pushed for the order “as much for economic reasons as for touristic ones. It is important to keep decorum reigning in our city, and I will go out there myself to see if the order has had the desired effect.”

That Mr. Meloni has made his way around the Flavian amphitheatre, no one has been able to say for sure, but what is certain is that neither law has come into force yet, since Mayor Virginia Raggi has not provided her all-important signature, despite promising she would sign the order last week.

In the meantime, the Roman officers will continue brandishing their swords as shamelessely as ever. When they will have to stop, no one can quite tell. 

lej