Rome mayor’s claim of swimmable Tiber in five years met with scepticism

Experts unconvinced by Roberto Gualtieri's mooted timescale for river to be reopened for public bathing

Rome hopes to welcome swimmers back to the River Tiber within five years, the city's mayor has announced, drawing inspiration from Paris, where the Seine was reopened for public bathing this summer for the first time in a century.

During a visit on Thursday to the Osaka Expo in Japan, Roberto Gualtieri said a working group had been set up to study the feasibility of the clean-up project.