Often dubbed the world's most beautiful city, Rome's cobbled piazzas, baroque churches and abundance of ancient archaeological sites have long drawn tourists from around the globe.

But according to the new deputy mayor, what the Eternal City really needs to keep visitors coming is not museums, but fun rides. "The model is EuroDisney in Paris," said Mauro Cutrufo, as he announced plans for a 500-hectare (1,250-acre) theme park on the outskirts of Rome, which could be ready in three years, he said.

If Cutrufo gets his way, anyone bored of touring actual remains of republican and imperial Rome can head to the suburbs to see the same thing in fibreglass.

"You would relive scenes from the Colosseum, from ancient Rome, gladiators or maybe Julius Caesar or other things," a Rome city official said.

After taking power in Rome this year, Cutrufo and mayor Gianni Alemanno have sought to reverse the cultural legacy of former mayor Walter Veltroni. The free jazz concerts staged by Veltroni are gone, as is the annual White Night, an all-night event of open galleries and museums.

Cutrufo launched his alternative vision of Roman rides, bouncy Colosseums and candyfloss at a tourism conference. Unlike the young single tourists events such as White Night attracted to Rome, Cutrufo said he wanted to attract more families to visit, to reverse a slight drop in visitor numbers, "because families contain more people".