‘Rome is offering locals and tourists $2,200 to get married there’: Read on…

Lazio, the second most populated region of Italy, includes the capital, Rome, according to the official tourism board. Couples getting married in the region will be given 2,000 euros, a sum equivalent to $2,230, to spend on their weddings.

‘From Lazio with Love’ is the title of a new wedding fund announced on the region’s official website. The fund is accepting applications as of Monday, according to the statement. It will be able to welcome them until the end of January 2023, or until the reserve fund runs out.

Locals and tourists alike can apply for a portion of the 10 million euro fund, or about $11.1 million. They must ‘marry or legally unite in Lazio’ between January 1 and December 31, 2022, and they ‘purchase services or products related to the event from Lazio companies’. According to the statement, the cash fund will help revitalize wedding tourism and address the economic crisis by supporting local businesses that lost customers to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It can be used for a wide array of wedding services. These include wedding planners, attire and rings, venues, catering, floral arrangements, photographers, and a honeymoon package worth up to 700 euros, or around $780. According to the statement, only one member of a couple can apply for the fund. On the website of the Lazio region, couples can submit up to five expense documents for reimbursement.

According to a report in The Guardian, only 9,000 couples have gotten married in Lazio since the pandemic began in March 2020, compared to more than 15,000 in 2019. Nicola Zingaretti, the president of Lazio, told the publication that the wedding industry has ‘suffered badly from the economic crisis’.

Additionally, he noted that significant investments were also made in the tourism sector. This is done with a desire and pride to have the ability to boast of everything that our city has to offer’. Lazio has a number of heritage landmarks, according to Zingaretti, making it an ideal place for a wedding. According to wedding-planning hub Top Wedding Sites, these sites include the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, and the Trevi Fountain in Rome, all of which have traditionally been favorites for wedding photographs.

Wedding planning company Passaggi, based in Italy, noted on its website that Lazio also offers a lot of options outside of Rome for weddings. This includes countryside villas perfect for ceremonies. Insider’s request for comment was not immediately answered by representatives of Lazio’s regional government.